A New Pokemon Hero
by Zoroarkkkk
Summary: The Pokémon world can be a lot darker than displayed in the anime and games, but is also deeper and harsher. The world is ravaged by criminal organizations and wild Pokémon, only Champions and their chosen leaders can separate the danger of the natural world. Only, what happens when the Champion of Kalos is shirking on her duties? Strong female lead!
1. Vaniville Town

Sitting beside her parent's graves, the girl hugged the egg to her chest. The egg was practically unbreakable, only a few materials could break them, all only accessible by other Pokémon. It was the only object that made her feel as if she was strong. The brown and tan egg had been around for seemingly years, but in reality, only two weeks.

Her parents couldn't hurt her anymore, never again. She would become strong, strong and protect others.

She knew that realistically she had her whole life in front of her, but she couldn't help but be caught in the moment. She was left as a ward to the state, no other family around to claim her, Everest was officially an orphan. In Kalos however, orphans had the same opportunity as other children to go on a Pokémon adventure, and not have to be left in the total watch of one , got an monthly check that would normally go to a foster family for their own. Then had to check in with a supervisor once a month to ensure they were behaving responsibly, but other than they, they were practicelly free to whatever they pleased, lest they let themselves stand out.

So, here Everest sat, a backpack thrown over her shoulders. Inside was crammed with whatever she thought she may need, which included two changes of clothes and two empty pokéballs. She had even bought herself a pokédex, it was black and red with a fancy light up screen. Attached to the back was a sleeping bag - she didn't want to sleep in a pokécenter if she didn't have to. So, hopefully soon, she could find a low leveled pokémon to catch, and they could train together. Otherwise, she was a sitting Ducklett here with only an egg.

Leaving everything the brown haired girl knew, she took off down the dirt path, through the towering trees.

 **Hey guys! I've decided to try a different outlook on the Pokémon world, it will be quite a bit darker than the one in the anime and games, but I think a little more realistic. This is my first story on here, so I will** **definitely appreciate feedback and how to improve on my story.**


	2. Route 1 Aquacorde Town

Not even an hour later, Everest was still alone, but now, she had seen more than she ever did. So many pokémon lived in the underbrush and overhead she never knew about. With the help of her pokédex, she learned it was best to avoid Fletchling nests, and when frightened, Caterpie release a bad odor, so Everest carefully walked through the grass.

Surrounded by nature, she felt free. For the first time since they left, she was happy. Maybe she was meant to come out on this adventure and experience all this life. It was truly beautiful out here, so beautiful that she didn't notice she wasn't alone until she was a few steps away.

"Feaarrrr. Roww row." A bird cawed from up in the trees, a huge Fearow sat above her, the brown and red bird sitting more than seven feet tall, black eyes staring down at her. Instinctually, she hugged the egg closer to her chest, unable to run away as she was stuck to the spot in fear. The Spearow line, the pre-evolution to Fearow, were one of the few pokemon known to steal eggs. It raised its huge wings, more than fifteen feet either way, and cawed down at her, as if mocking her small stature. The eleven year old bravely stood her ground, unflinching as she stared back. This was only the first test of many she would face, Everest knew that, but that didn't make it any less scary.

"You can't have it." She stood fiercely, hugging it to her chest. The brown pokémon merely shook out its wings as it prepared an attack. It didn't have any qualms about attacking a human. Its beak began to glow faintly as it left its perch, and with a moment's notice, she ducked, talons barely missing her back.

"Zorrrrr." A snarl broke through the night, and Everest stopped immediately. She shivered in fear as he slowly looked to her left. The human was sure she was going to now have to fight off two pokemon on her lonesome, which was a terrifying thought considering even the weakest of pokémon still had the potential to hospitalize a human. There, partially hidden by a bush, was a pokémon. She couldn't tell what it was, she hadn't ever seen one of its kind. It growled lowly, and stalked forward, but Everest held her ground, straightened up after the aerial attack.

The Fearow hovered overhead, cawing unsurely. Both were surprised when the newcomer suddenly changed into a Fearow as well, this one larger. It screeched angrily as it flew away, deciding the egg wasn't worth it. Still standing her ground, the human looked at the small pokemon who had come to her rescue as it changed back to the small creature. She had a feeling it was something like a Ditto.

"Thank you." She managed to murmur, dipping her head in respect. The grey and red pokemon looked up at her, some weird look in its eyes. The teal eyes held a knowledge beyond its size, and simply stood there, observing. She decided to sit down on the grass, a few yards from the mystery pokémon, and check over the egg to ensure nothing was damaged.

As she let her hands drift over the smooth curves of the cool egg, a small dark nose nudged her hand. Turning to look at the pokémon, she smiled at it affectionately. It rumbled at her, and rubbed its cheeks against her hand. In response, she gladly pet it.

"I wouldn't have this egg if weren't for you." She managed to mumble graciously, still in shock from the fast turn of events. The grey and red Pokémon purred happily, and Everest gave it a bit of her Oran berry, as the pokémon ate, the new trainer raised her Pokédex.

"No information found. Researchers are still finding new species of Pokémon." It chirped almost gleefully in the monotone voice, as if making fun of her lack of knowledge.

"Great, this definitely was worth all that money." She hissed under her breath. She examined the creature once more, hoping to see a feature she recognized, maybe this was a pre-evolution of something she knew. It was most likely a dark type, as the coloring suggested. She gave it a couple more berries, in hopes that it remained friendly.

While dark types could be friendly, that usually was only the case when raised by a skilled trainer, otherwise their instincts kicked in far too often. Hunters of the dark had to be sneaky and stealthy, they weren't rewarded for letting their prey know they were there. Usually dark types meant pranks and theft, sometimes even unneeded violence in stronger evolutions. But this one seemed nice enough, after all, it had saved her egg.

It was smaller than Zigzagoon and could easily be picked up. It looked somewhat like Fennekin, the shape was similar, but coloring was all looked back up to her, expectant teal eyes asking for more berries.

"My name's Everest. I don't have many berries left, but if we travel together, we could get more." She promised, while the mystery Pokémon seemed somewhat strong, it didn't seem too worried about growing stronger. But, maybe the trainer could change that. "I also want to get stronger, I wanna be able to challenge other trainers. Do you want to grow strong together?" It regarded her carefully, even sniffing her outstretched hand before nodding.

With a smile, Everest took out a poke ball from her bag, her stomach spinning at the idea of actually having a Pokémon of her own. The black nose pressed against the button, and in a scarlet flash of light, the Pokémon was sucked in. It shook a few times, but clicked in the end, and she held in a scream of excitement. Immediately releasing it, it squeaked happily.

"Hey, welcome to the team." She smiled and stood, the Pokémon decided to follow, staying near her heels. "What kind of Pokemon are you? I don't recognize you." Her question rang out through the empty part of the woods.

Route 1 was pretty short, only a couple miles long, but last week Vanville Town and Aquacorde Town announced that they would clear a majority of the woods and make a path, due to the large amount of Fearow decided to nest. By doing this, it would solve the growing flock problem, and hopefully make the residents safer.

"Zorrr, zor, Zorua." It chirped happily, spinning in circles, chasing its tail. Looking back at her Pokédex which had finally beeped after receiving information on her new friend, she smiled down at what she did find.

"Zorua." Everest tested out, while the machine didn't hold that information, it did say her gender as well as the moves she knew. Her companion yipped happily as they continued on. "Are you good with Zorua, or do you want a nickname?" She knew quite a few people gave their companions a nickname, and she had always thought it was cool, especially to distinguish others of the same species. Zorua yipped excitedly, and surprised the dark haired girl by jumping up onto her shoulder. That must mean yes.

First, she tried a couple of normal dark type names, like Shadow, Midnight, Obsidian, Omen, and Opal, but she didn't like any of those. Next, she wondered if she would like a human-like name, some liked them, made them feel closer to their trainers. The Zorua proved to be picky, as she shot down all of the girly names, so she then decided to go to names that worked for guys or girls.

"How about Spencer?" Everest asked, and she was received with a lick to her cheek. "Spencer, I think it fits you." Everest smiled at her new friend, and saw the forest breaking up ahead. "Look! We made it!" Spencer yipped happily, excited for her trainer's happiness. Talking proved the best way to kill time, as they finally made it to Aquacorde Town.

The entrance to the small town was very informal, but that was kinda to be expected, as it was a very small town, barely larger than her own home town. The warm colored bricks were the foundation for the town on the river, and they loved the water. In her ear, Spencer yipped excitedly as they passed under the arch, and she saw the town.

"This is Aquacorde Town, it's our first stop as a team." Everest grinned happily to her pokemon, who echoed her sentiment with a gleeful yip as she nuzzled her cheek. Seems like she was just as lonely as the human was.

They walked in silence as they watched a flute player perform on the closest street corner, playing for a crowd of locals. The tune was cheery, and Everest wanted to sing along to it. Passing the street corner and a couple residential buildings didn't attract too much attention, just a few glances. As they walked down the main street, they came across a cafe, along with tables set up out front.

While the human did have some food packed, she couldn't turn down the smell of freshly baked bread, and took a seat outside of the cafe she had visited a few times before.

Spencer jumped off her shoulder, and favored the left side of the table where the sun hit perfectly. Basking in the sun, the Pokémon watched wearily as an unfamiliar human approached her trainer.

"Good afternoon, how can I help you?" The woman asked, holding a menu up in case she needed to look it over, but Everest shook her head.

"Could I have a croissant with Pecha jam, and a bowl of berries?" Spencer perked up at the promise of berries, which made the waitress laugh a bit.

"Of course. I hope you like Nanab berries." She smiled softly and walked away, and Everest turned her attention to the increasingly wary pokemon.

"You don't have to be afraid here, there aren't that many people. I'll protect you anyways." Everest smiled at her partner, who nodded, but still watched the people moving around them, which was actually a very small number.

The town was really peaceful, one of the smallest around, so hopefully the Zorua would get used to the smaller towns before they made it to Lumioise City. A couple other people sat at the other tables, too involved with their laptops or books however to notice the newcomers. Farther off, past the small dropoff, the stairs led to small shops near the river, which they would check out later.

The waitress came back after a few minutes with food for both, including water in a cup and a bowl, which Everest was very thankful for. Spencer was less wary of the woman after she set a bowl of Nanab, Pecha, and Oran berries in front of her friend, and gladly began eating as if she hadn't in months.

"So, if it's okay with you, we should enter the Kalos league!" She exclaimed excitedly as she tucked into her food. Curious blue eyes met hers, and tilted her head a little, questioning what she meant exactly. "So the Kalos League takes place around this time next year, where all of the strongest trainers and their Pokemon battle, till there's only one winner." Everest began, and by the wagging tail of Spencer, she seems to have caught her attention. "See, we have to battle the eight gyms that are around Kalos, and win. We get these badges that prove we won, and when we have all eight, we can enter for the next competition." Everest explained happily.

"Zorrr!" Spencer agreed happily, it seemed that she wanted to prove her strength as well, and her trainer was giddy. Ever since she was a little girl she had ALWAYS wanted to enter, to prove she could raise a family of her own that wasn't broken, that she was strong even when those around her had been weak.

"Good, now, we have to train. We have to be strong, but clever. We don't necessarily need all the power, but we can be smart about it too." Everest pulled out her notebook, along with her Pokédex. "See, there are 18 types, each have different strengths and weaknesses, which you probably know a little about." Pulling up a chart that she knew by heart, the colors danced across Spencer's eyes as she took it all in, from what Everest could tell, she was smart.

Everest began sketching something in her book, letting curious eyes watch as each pen stroke was precise, careful. Eventually, it was revealed to be a decent sketch of Spencer, with Zorua written above it. She chirped happily, and sniffed the page in interest.

"So, I want to keep track of everything important, we can't forget anything that will help us. Knowledge is power." Everest explained to her new friend, who ate up her words. "See, I'll keep track of your moves here, so even if one day I don't have a Pokedex, I can know what you have, or even where we started." A few moves were then wrote beside the picture, which was still nonsense to Spencer, but it looked smart.

Their lunch continued like that, Everest went into fascinating details to Spencer, who eagerly listened. Everest didn't know why just yet, but Spencer wanted to follow her every word.

-Later-

A couple hours later, Everest and Spencer were down in the city square looking at the shops. As she was about to walk into a shop, a man came up to her, with a huge smile on his face.

"Hello!" He greeted, which made Spencer hover even closer to her trainer protectively, but the man didn't seem to notice. "You look like a brand new trainer. I've been giving out potions to new trainers for years, it's free if you would like one." He offered, his smile genuine. Everest's eyes lit up, and gladly accepted it.

"Thank you sir! And yes, we just started today. My name is Everest." She smiled at him, and he did a double take.

"Wow, only just today! Well, your Pokemon already looks mighty strong! Good luck on your journey young miss." He waved and departed, and Everest hugged the purple bottle to her chest, every little bit helped.

"Hear that Spence? He thinks you already look strong." The appraisal made Spencer's chest puff a little bit in pride before she jumped up to Everest's shoulder once more. "But we still need some supplies." Pushing the door open, a little bell alerted the store owner to Everest, and she smiled and waved.

"Why hello there. Aren't you a cute little thing." She cooed to Spencer, whose ears tucked in embarrassment, and Everest swallowed back a laugh, from strong to cute. "How can I help you?" She asked kindly. The shop was pretty little, but that was to be expected, after all, it was a small town, they count have much in variety.

"Do you have any trainers' supplies here? We're just starting our journey." For now, the egg was placed in her backpack, wrapped in clothes to keep it protected. She didn't want any thief in the town to grab it, or Fearow for that matter.

"Most certainly. We have the finest potions and pokéballs, if you're interested. 400 and 300 respectively." Her eyes glimmered a bit at the prospect of money, and Everest frowned, the seemed a little steep on the price… but she needed each. They were about to go to Route 2, then Santalune Forest, they needed to be plenty stocked up. And she did have a little bit of money left.

"Okay, I need two pokéballs, and five potions please." Her request was quickly filled, the merchandise placed carefully in the bag while Everest searched the special storage compartments that were bigger on the inside for her money.

"2,600 please." The woman smiled, though now Everest could detect the greediness in her voice. So could Spencer apparently, because she growled a little. The woman frowned, then shook her head. "Well, you know what, you're buying so many, I'll give you a discount, 1,900." Everest's eyes shot open, but wasn't about to object. Handing the woman the money, they left the shop without a word.

Placing each thing in a designated spot, Everest had to put her bag down, and rested it on the fountain in the middle of town, meanwhile, Spencer gazed into the water.

"The potions will heal you up if you get hurt." Pointing to the special medicine which was actually incredible, and had improved in leaps in bounds over the past couple years, but all Spencer saw was some purple goo. "Don't look at it with such hate." She grinned and laughed as she put the last one in her bag. "Trust me, you'll appreciate it one day. Now, if we come across someone who wants to join our team, we'll use these." Everest explained, holding up the white and red Poke-balls. "But, when the egg hatches, we'll use this one." This time, a pink and yellow ball fit in her palm, one that she had gotten with the egg. "A friend gave it to me, sorry I didn't use it for you, but I guess it's supposed to help the healing process." Spencer shrugged, not really caring about that. Personally, she didn't mind cause she didn't want to be in her ball anyways. She liked walking with Everest.

With that, the brown haired girl threw the strap over her shoulder before Spencer joined her. Walking over the bridge into the unknown.


	3. Route 2

Aquacorde Town was as far as she had ever been, so Route 2 was completely new. After crossing the great river that divided the route and the town, Spencer jumped off her shoulder and decided to stand guard a few steps in front of Everest. Almost instantly, they came a cross a patch of tall grass which stretched for at least 100 yards in every direction, no doubt there were plenty of Pokemon within it.

"I think we should get through this patch of grass, then find a campsite." Everest suggested as they began to wade through the grass, the human was careful of where she stepped, ensuring she didn't step on a bug type. Suddenly, a familiar hissing noise came from her left, and she looked over to see Spencer hissing at a Scatterbug.

Their first battle! She was so excited, but swallowed back her shout of excitement. Instead, she had to think of a good strategy.

"Use pursuit." She pointed towards the bug-type, but then realized that was a wasted motion. One, Spencer already knew who to attack, there was one target. Second, Spencer wasn't even looking at her.

Nonetheless, Spencer's paws grew dark, and she jumped forward, straight towards Scatterbug. It hissed in response, and shot a string of sticky web at Spencer. Upon impact, the Scatterbug was knocked unconscious, but the dark-type was covered in white String-shot.

"Yes! Nice one!" She cheered, and picked up the messy Zorua. It whined pitifully, and the human had to laugh as she tried to get the sticky off of her partner. Out of the corner of her eye, Scatterbug got up and crawled away, not bothering with the trainer. Instead, she waded through the grass, careful to be quiet so to avoid any other wandering Pokémon. Any pokémon, no matter how small could be a real danger to her and her pokemon. Finally making it out, she sat below a tree, dusk approaching.

Setting her bag beside her, she placed Spencer on her lap, and got a brush from her bag. The brush she had bought awhile ago for whatever Pokemon she eventually caught, and now it would come in handy.

"This will pull on your fur a bit, so stay still." She mumbled, carefully dividing up the sections of fur that hadn't been hit. Spencer whined, but did as told. "You did so well, that was awesome. One hit!" She exclaimed happily, praising her new friend. Spencer whined in response, but this one wasn't as sad. Continuing brushing through the soft fur, she began to dribble water over her as well, which Spencer was not happy about. Ignoring the small hisses, she finally pulled the last of the string shot off of Spencer, and flung it to the side, discarded and forgotten.

"Look, you're all pretty now." Spencer grumbled, not sure if she should be annoyed or happy at the turn of events just decided to settle down besides her trainer. "Well, I'm going to set up camp. We really made good time today."

-ES-

The next morning, the sun woke both up by shinning directly in their faces. Spencer hid her eyes by covering them with her ears, but it was hopeless, meanwhile, Everest sighed as she sat up. The sunrise was beautiful, oranges and pinks stretched across the sky, flocks of Fletchling were silhouettes against the amazing color mix. Nearby, a small Weedle sat beside the burning embers of the campfire as it warmed itself. Wearily keeping the poison type in view at all times, she began to get the campsite packed up.

She could hear the calls of the wild pokemon just beyond the bushes, reminding the pair that danger always waited them. No matter how brightly the sun shinned down on them, there were monsters lurking in the darkness, longing for a bite of a weaker being. As is nature, survival of the fittest.

Another reason she had to get stronger, she refused to stand aside and let herself be trampled by other trainers or even wild pokémon. Stay still too long, you get lazy, weak. Open yourself up for defeat or even death. It wasn't uncommon for trainers to disappear as they traveled through forests or particularly long routes. Conferences brought out the strongest and the most narcissistic assholes out there, which guaranteed for deaths. Everest refused to be one of the many to overestimate her ability and loose a friend.

Therefor, they had much to do before the Conference. So many ideas raced through her head, all the things she wanted to do, all the ways she and Spencer - and whoever else joined them- were going to rise to the top. Last night, she had poured over every single dark-type move. Yeah, of course Spencer couldn't learn all of them, but until she discovered what moves Zorua could learn, this was the best way. Plus, she wanted to teach her other moves as well, she just wasn't sure if it was possible.

"Okay, Spencer, I had a great idea." Everest announced, dramatically flaring her hair as she swept it out from behind her. The dark-type looked up at her in curiosity, eager to grow stronger too. "Let's boost your speed, make you untouchable." She proposed, and as if it was planned, a Pidgey flew past them, chasing a Fletchling that was much faster. "See! The world of pokémon is giving us inspiration. I'll race you to that tree and back." Challenge in her eyes, Everest took off, with Spencer hot on her heels. Little did either of them know, this was the first of many races that would lead to their team to be known as the fastest in all of Kalos.

-ES-

Later that day, after an hour of racing, Everest finally decided that she was much outclassed by Spencer. But that wouldn't stop their races anyways. Now, with the sun beating down on them, and three battles under their belts, they felt good. Great even. The Scatterbug from the previous night, plus a Fletchling and another Scatterbug were all defeated. Admittedly, the flying-type was much more difficult that expected, seeing as it had the air advantage and was wicked fast. They barely managed to beat it, only with the helps of Fake Tears did they win. But, now there was even more motivation to get stronger, as well as Spencer may finally admit that potions helped. After rounding the next corner, they saw a boy through the trees. He was taking slow steps through the tall grass, looking around for something. With Spencer perched on her shoulder, and the egg in a protective hug, she passed through the trees and right into the boy's view.

"Aha! So another falls into my trap! I challenge you to a battle!" He shouted, probably a couple years younger than Everest, his red cap on backwards and his blonde, shaggy hair hanging in his face.

"Challenge accepted! My name's Everest by the way." She introduced and set the egg by her feet. She was nervous to fight in her first official battle, but she trusted Spencer.

"Austin, the champ! Come on out Zigzagoon!" He laughed happily, and his pokemon was revealed. He nodded towards the pokemon perched on her shoulder. "Fighting with that one?" Austin asked curiously, in truth he had never seen that type before.

"Yes, I choose you Spencer!" The pokemon jumped off her shoulder and onto the grass. "And, let's confuse them." She grinned, and as directed, the Zorua's image changed into a Zigzagoon.

"Woah. How'd you do that?" He asked, frozen in shock. So, the girls took their chance to make their move.

"Use pursuit!" The Zorua took off, hitting right on her target. The Zigzagoon cried out in surprise, meanwhile the illusion pokemon retreated to wait for the next move.

"Zigzagoon, growl." Austin pointed, still visibly shaken. Austin's Zigzagoon followed orders, and the intimidating growl rang out over the field, even from such a small creature Everest shivered as the fangs glinted in the light.

"Don't let yourself be outdone Spencer, scratch."With great speed, Zorua took off and dove for the other pokemon. Slashing right across the striped pokemon's face, it collapsed to the ground, whining pitifully. Austin rose his hand, recalling the injured pokémon.

"Return. Nice, that is some neat trick you got there." Austin smiled and offered a hand to the girl. Everest smiled and shook his hand.

"Thank you, it's actually her ability." Everest explained, and Zorua went back to normal. It licked Austin's leg in greeting before going back to her trainer's arms. "Thank you for the battle, I haven't ever battled a trainer before." Her admittance earned her a shocked face.

"Really? I couldn't tell! Good luck on your journey." He smiled before waving, he was headed out. "Don't go into the woods unprepared!" Everest nodded to him in thanks before facing the unknown, the dark trees welcomed them.


	4. Santalune Forest

"I've heard that it's really easy to get lost in here." Everest muttered after a few minutes inside. She would be scared if she didn't have Spencer next to her, the shadows seemed to be absorbed by them. The Zorua murmured her agreements as they walked along, the sun was blocked by the tall trees. There were plenty of worn down trails by pokémon and travelers, but the sign that pointed the way out was faded to the point where you couldn't read it.

They were content to walk along in silence, able to relax. Now that they weren't in the baking sun, walking was actually enjoyable. Continuing exploring, they heard some rustles in the grass. Both trainers stopped to watch a yellow Pokemon emerge, its tail shaped like a lightning bolt. In response, Spencer changed her shape to echo the pokemon, and Everest held up her PDex to find out more about what she was pretty sure to be a Pikachu.

"Pikachu, the mouse Pokemon. When several of these Pokemon gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms." The mechanical voice spoke, and the wild Pikachu hopped closer to check Spencer out. Remaining still, she certainly didn't want to provoke it, no doubt the thunderbolts Pikachu were famed for would be devastating to her.

It squeaked, and bounced up and down, before suddenly shooting an arc of lightning towards Spencer. The Zorua cried in in shock, just barely dodging the attack, and instead fell to the ground in a puff of dust, unsure of how Pikachu movements worked was her best guess.

"Spencer, scratch!" Spencer raced forward towards the Pikachu, claws glowing as she bounded forwards in a new body. But because of that, she was a little unfamiliar in it, and so she stumbled a little.

The real Pikachu let loose a thunderbolt, which easily hit Spencer. Everest winced as her friend jolted and her form went back to the normal grey and red. Besides a little fur burnt, Spencer proved to be okay, only pissed.

"Pursuit, then use scratch." With a dark shadow and renewed strength, her dark type took off towards the Pikachu. Pikachu was fast, and began running away, but Spencer chased after it, and increased speed with Pursuit. With a dark flash (if that was even a thing) Spencer appeared in Pikachu's path, and rammed right into it. The pokemon cried out as it fell back, and Spencer took a couple swipes at it, and it fell back unconscious.

"Nice job." Everest smiled, then bent down beside both Pokemon. Getting out the potion, she sprayed a little on both wherever there were wounds. First centering on the Pikachu, she sprayed a particularly rough scratch on its side. Call it dumb, but she didn't want to leave it defenseless to the same dangers she was exposed to.

After a few moments, Spencer was basically all healed up, and the electric type was blinking awake. It angrily hissed and ran off, shooting a small spark at Spencer before it disappeared into the bushes. Spencer easily dodged it before changing into a Pikachu once more.

"Thats a good idea, Spence. You should get used to as many different types of Pokemon as possible." Everest nodded and laughed a little as her Pokemon stumbled about on two leg instead of four. "Wanna make sure we can convince people of your trick." Spencer growled, but nodded anyways. "I think this will be the perfect place to get used to different pokemon, especially those that are common around here. There have to be plenty of pokemon in these woods." With that, Spencer and Everest continued along their way, not having a real clue of how to leave the forest, but happily anyways, getting used to the bodies of different pokemon.

-ES-

After awhile of wandering through the trees, Everest coughed as a putrid smell entered her nose. Fear bubbled in her stomach as she continued forward, already predicting what she would find. Managing to part a particularly thick bush, she and Spencer jumped through. At the foot of a tree was what Everest expected to find. The remains of two creatures, heavily decayed and…consumed. As far as she could tell, maybe Panpour, but the tree similar species were hard to determine from each other in the rate of decomposition like this.

Even in a low power forest like this, there shouldn't have been destruction like this, she slowly realized. Trees were ripped to shreds around them, fully grown oak trees had holes eaten through them only powerful poison type moves could have pulled off, nothing a Weedle could have handled. Huge gashes in the ground were filled with the previous night's rainwater, maybe claws or a tail created these. The Panpour didn't stand a chance. Spencer nudged Everest's pant leg, sensing her uneasiness.

"Yeah, we should get going." She did her best to ignore the empty nest behind the dead pokémon, where five eggs had left indents, stolen by whatever had killed them. She spent the rest of the day on edge while checking the Dex, searching for anything that could have done that. She didn't find anything.

-ES-

Three days later, they were still hopelessly lost, but were getting better at copying the different forms of Pokemon they've seen.

There were also a plethora of trainers in these woods, every single one were surprised at Zorua, but told Everest they hadn't ever seen one before, and don't know about them. So, the trainer hadn't learned anything new about her companion yet. But, that didn't stop them from defeating pretty much everyone they came across. The only one they lost to was a girl who had two pokemon, a Weedle and a Bunnelby. She was kind enough to give Everest a revive once she realized Everest didn't have another pokemon.

"When you get to Lumiose City, you should buy a couple revives. They may be expensive, but they're totally worth it. Good for when you're in the wilderness for awhile." The girl grinned as Spencer awoke.

"Thank you, do you by chance know how to get to Route 3?" The blonde girl had to think about that for a few moments before nodding. She pointed to the west, instead of north which was the way the had been going.

"There's a trick to it, you head west before north. That's the fastest way out. Have a good rest of your trip. When you're stronger, challenge me again, or maybe just when you get more Pokemon." She grinned before waving and walking away.

"Thanks again!" Everest shouted before picking up Spencer. With an egg in one hand, and Spencer in her other, she began to walk west.

After a little while, Spencer managed to regain her strength, and instead took her place on Everest's shoulder, snoozing lightly. Walking in silence, Everest looked around, seeing the smaller pokemon wandering around.

Most of the pokemon around here were pretty young, and therefor inexperienced. Most of them didn't find battling very interesting, and left Everest alone for the most part. The ones that did weren't very powerful, and Spencer could defeat them.

"Woah, do you see that?" Everest exclaimed, off the side of one of the paths, something shiny was glimmering in the sunlight. Spencer adjusted on her shoulder to get a glimpse, and Everest ran to the mystery item. Some leaves and dirt were covering what looked kind of like a huge marble. Bright yellow, with red, orange and blue swirled inside. It was about the size of an oran berry. Spencer squeaked curiously and nudged the item.

There was a weird aura coming off of the item, some sort of powerful essence. She gently brushed off some of the dirt, and examined the item with curiosity. It didn't look like anything she had ever seen before, certainly couldn't be natural.

"I wonder what this is." Everest mumbled, and her partner squeaked in her ear. " I wonder if the Pokédex says anything about it." Digging around in her pocket, she tried to find the device that has since redeemed itself since her first use of it. Finally, her fingers clasped around the cool metal, and flipped it open.

"A mysterious stone with a strange aura." It beeped, and Everest frowned in return. Sighing, she put the device back in her pocket, but held onto the stone.

"Maybe we'll find someone who knows what it is. Let's keep moving!" She exclaimed, and Spencer cheered as well, excited for the future, because who know what lies beyond the known.


	5. Route 3

**Route 3**

They had finally made it out of the Santalune Forest, and both were exhausted. The human was dragging her bag on the ground. Spencer had hopped on the bag a half a mile back without the human noticing and was snoozing away. After days of being lost in the forest, loosing sleep from all the crazy pokémon and trainers around every corner, they were about to collapse until they saw day breaking through the trees.

"Let's just camp here." Everest decided after awhile, plopping down behind some bushes. "You brat." She mumbled affectionately once she spotted the sleeping Zorua. Placing Spencer down on her sweatshirt, she unpacked her sleeping bag and didn't even bother changing. They would find a pokémon center in the morning and wash everything.

-ES-

Later on, before the sun had even risen, a bright light was shinning in Everest's eyes. With a groan she hid her face in the blankets, and she blindly tried to push away the light.

"Spence, stop shining that light at me." She mumbled, but someone was nudging her side. Curling in on herself, she wanted to stay asleep. "I'm tired." She complained before forcing her eyes open.

"Zor, zorrr." She growled impatiently at Everest, and her trainer could sense the urgency in her voice. Sitting up, she gasped in surprise. Eyes wide, she scrambled to leave her nest. The egg was pulsing a white light.

"Oh Arceus! It's happening! Why didn't you tell me?" She asked and took the warm egg into her grip. Spencer huffed in annoyance, but curled into her trainer's grip, watching the egg in excitement.

Their hearts were beating fast, in sync, as they held their breath. This was something neither had seen before, and they were so engaged. With one last burst of light, Everest could feel soft fur in her hands. Once their eyes adjusted, soft brown eyes were looking into Everest's. The small Eevee was so soft, and nuzzled Everest's hands in contempt, already imprinting on the trainer.

"Eeeee." It cooed, blinking slowly and licking the awestruck Everest. Zorua quickly began licking the messy tuft on the Eevee's head, making sure it was warm.

"Oh, you're so cute." Everest exclaimed, nuzzling the soft fur. "I'm Everest, and this is Spencer." The Eevee gave the dark pokémon a look of awestruck, then continued to cuddle. Suddenly, it sat up, scrunched its nose, and sneezed. A cool mist enveloped them, earning a surprised look from the companions, and the pokedex was pulled out.

"Mist, an ice type move. The user cloaks itself and its allies in a white mist that prevents any of their stats from being lowered for five turns." The pokémon in question just began biting Spencer's tail, who ignored it and looked at the strange Eevee. "Eevee, a rare Pokemon that adapts to harsh environments by taking on different evolutionary forms."

"Mist isn't a move Eevees can learn." Suddenly very awake, Everest's grin grew and hugged her two partner Pokemon. "This is so cool! Do you like the name Icee?"

"Eevee!" It squeaked, nuzzling the trainer's chin. "Eeeeev." With a low whine it pounced on Zorua, tugging at her ear. And Everest could almost hear the battling thoughts in Spencer's head. She pulled out the heal ball and pressed it to the pokemon's head. Sucked into the device, it didn't even shake, and went immediately into her cache. She caught an eevee.

-ESI-

When dawn actually came, all three were passed out, the pokemon deep in the sleeping bag, Everest's bag used as a pillow. As the sun continued to rise, as the world awoke, movement could be seen within the scarlet bag.

"Eeeeee." A fluffy brown head poked out of the sleeping bag. New eyes searched the morning sky, before it ran on shaky legs into the open. "Eee eve Eevee! Veee." Her screeches filled the air, and the other occupants of the sleeping bag jolted up.

Everest's worried eyes fell to the small form of the Eevee, prancing around, spinning in circles as she chased her tail. Taking a deep breath, the new trainer calmed herself and smiled at her newest pokémon. A curious Azurill bounced to over to Icee, and the baby began batting at the blue tail.

Seeing as the baby was safe for now, Everest decided she should research a bit about her newest Pokémon. Pulling out the Dex, she tapped on moves.

"Hm. Says Icee knows protect, tackle, and mist." Speaking to Spencer, the dark type pokemon got up and walked to Icee. Everest watched their interaction. The Azurill was fondly playing with the baby pokémon, who was now chasing a bubble the wild pokémon produced.

The three creatures played for a couple hours before Icee fell asleep, passed out in Everest's arms. In thanks, Everest gave the Azurill a couple berries before they left their campsite. After a week on the road, Everest was now running low on supplies. And with twice as many companions as before, she needed to be ready. According to the maps on the trails, Santalune City was at the end of this road.

"There's a gym in the city ahead. Wanna battle?" Everest asked the two creatures who walked beside her. She had no idea what to expect, but they would go in together. Spencer chirped happily in agreement, and Everest knew they had to come up with a plan.

She didn't want to loose, yes, she knew that no one ever did, but she didn't want to fail her newest friends. She didn't want to risk loosing everything. Everest wanted to become strong enough for anyone who needed her help.

"Okay, considering the Dex doesn't have you, it's safe to assume that they don't know about your kind. So, I think we should always go in with you in disguise." Her reasoning was sound, and some planning was better than none. "So, since you always loose the disguise after you receive damage, I think no matter what, you should use Fake Tears, that way they are super caught off guard." Her words were quiet enough so that she didn't wake Icee. "And, one other thing. I want to teach you a move, a couple Pokémon at my old house knew this move."

-ESI-

The next day, Everest decided today would be the perfect day to teach Spencer Aerial Ace. The previous night they had found a spacious clearing and set up camp. Now, with the sun high enough in the sky, and all three were awake enough, they could begin real training.

Icee would just be watching for now, she was too young, and Everest wouldn't have the Eevee learn how to battle until at least she was a month old unless something important happened. Pokémon emerged from their eggs ready to battle, but she wanted to savor the innocence in the small Eevee for now.

Of course, she wasn't exactly sure _how_ to teach a pokémon a move, but she was willing to try. Icee sat on Everest's lap, very clingy after imprinting. Spencer at at the trainer's feet, looking over the other two.

"So, Aerial Ace is a flying type move, so, it might be easiest to learn with wings." Why not take advantage of her ability, right? With a chirp, she turned into a Fletchling, much to Icee's surprise. Everest laughed as Icee began to run after Spencer, and the Zorua struggled to fly away quickly enough. "Icee, come here. Spencer is learning a move." Icee chirped happily and came back to Everest's hold.

While distracting the Eevee with pets, she pulled out the video she found last night, maybe if her dark type watched another using the move she could pick up on it. It was a flying-type from the Kanto region, she thought to be called Farfetch'd. In a flash of light and incredible speed, the bird pokemon dove down at a practice dummy, wings shining.

"I think you should be able to jump once you pick up speed, see, you strike down and then quickly up."

After about an hour, Spencer finally got it down. It had been much easier with wings, the majority of the time was to get it down in her normal form. Icee on the other hand was very enthusiastic. If it wasn't impossible for her to learn it, she certainly would have, after running around and trying to copy Spencer. In short, a lot of running was done, and all parties were exhausted half way through the day.

So, now, underneath the shade of a tall tree, Spencer and Everest watched Icee with fondness as she tried to sneak up on a sleeping Caterpie. Her butt was high in the air as she stalked forward, tail waving in the wind. Spencer was watching carefully, ready to spring up if Icee needed to be helped.

Everest wasn't worried, Eevee were herbivores, so most likely, Icee was just looking for a playmate. And Caterpie were peaceful (for the most part), so they could relax under the shade and digest their lunch. Careful and quiet steps helped Icee reach the Caterpie, and then she jumped. When awoke from its nap, the Caterpie gurgled angrily, and tackled Icee. With a painful cry, the Eevee was thrown backwards, and Everest winced. Spencer growled and changed into a Fearow. Everest didn't stop her when the dark-type charged forward and snarled at the bug, sticking her beak into the bug type before Spencer picked up the baby gingerly by the scruff, and brought her back to Everest.

"You need to be careful who you attack." Everest reprimanded gently, but thankful she learned her lesson now, than later on when she had the opportunity to challenge a much bigger opponent. Taking the little baby, she ran over the fur making sure she really didn't have any actual injuries.

"Don't worry Spencer, she's okay. Probably more shock value." Cooing over the soft brown fur, she quieted the whimpers, looking into the big brown eyes. "You'll be okay. In time you'll get enough strength." Icee cuddled into the warmth of her trainer's arms, and Spencer changed back and began grooming the brown fur. Looks like Spencer's mothering instincts kicked in, silently, Everest wondered how old Spencer is.

Reaching into her bag, she found the few berries she had collected earlier, the ones she hadn't replanted. Icee seemed to like the Cherri berries more than Oran, and gobbled them up.

"Alright, Spencer, we're going to have to figure out our next stage, I heard that the gym we're traveling to is a bug type, which means you're going to have to dodge basically every attack. Here's what I'm thinking."


	6. Santalune City

Now, Everest walked into Santalune City with two identical Eevees dancing around her feet. One was excitedly chasing the other, who was doing her best to avoid any attacks.

"Icee, leave Spencer alone. I'll carry you." Holding out her arms, Icee jumped into her arms and spoke in mumbles that Everest had yet to understand.

Citizens of the city watched this newcomer enter their city with not one, but two Eevees. They were so rare, that they theorized she must be from a different region. One citizen in particular was very interested in the brown haired girl. She held a camera up to her eyes, and snapped a few pictures of the team as they passed her on the sidewalk. The pure adoration in the trainer's eyes was something she loved to see.

"Here it is guys." Everest sighed before walking into the familiar red roofed building. Inside was a kind loving woman with pink hair, and a Wigglytuff. "Hello, do you have any free rooms?"

"Oh yes, would you like me to check over your Eevee? They certainly are beautiful." Nurse Joy smiled to Everest who placed Icee on the counter.

"Yes please. She just hatched." Everest smiled and pet the soft tufts of fur. Joy's eyes grew wider, and somehow more loving as she looked over the pokemon.

"How wonderful. Here's your keys. She should be ready in thirty minutes or so." Handed the metallic key, Everest bade her new pokémon farewell for now, and what sounded like assurances from Spencer. They quickly put their items in the room before heading outside to the battlefield to practice their new move.

-ESI-

The next few days were filled with relaxation and prepping for the upcoming gym battle. Everest even bought new clothes that were more suited for her travels. Now, she wore a black dress hat with a red bow that matched Spencer's coloring. She had a black leather jacket, red and black shirt, and a black shorts. Accented with black boots and a grey backpack, she felt ready to face anything. She had used all the money she won during battles, plus those weird mushrooms she sold in the store.

At the moment, she was talking to one of the townspeople about the gym leader. Some she befriended her first day here, and had given her a Luxury Ball as a gift.

"Yeah, she uses bug types. But she normally changes up which ones all the time. So, hopefully your Eevee can handle bugs. Good thing they're normal 'cause if they were dark or grass you would be doomed." He chuckled while sipping his coffee, meanwhile Everest laughed uneasily.

"Yeah, good thing." She mumbled, before checking her watch. "Oh no! is that the time? I promised Nurse Joy I would meet her at 10. Thanks for the help!" Everest yelled as she ran down the streets, what appeared as two Eevee following her.

Running and out of breath, she made it to the center with one minute to spare. Hands on her knees, she fought to catch her breath before making her way to the counter.

"Hello Nurse Joy." She smiled at the pink haired woman, who kindly nodded back.

"Everest! Right on time. Now, you're all registered, and here's the delivery you asked for." A brown parcel was handed to Everest, who gladly handed over the money.

"Thank you! Wish me luck!" Everest yelled out before running out the doors. All three were bouncing with energy, so excited to have this match. As they approached the huge gallery, Everest took a seat on a bench and began to unwrap the parcel.

Inside were a few curious items. There was a white scarf, glittering in the sunlight. A small beak that must have come from far away lands held up by a chain, and a few purple and red bottles. The potions were put into her bag.

"Icee. I'm not sure if you'll have to battle, but just in case, okay?" The normal typed pokémon had only been in mock battles against Spencer, but stood still as her trainer tied the white scarf around her neck. Next, Spencer, still holding the disguise of an Eevee got the chain around her neck, only for it to be covered up by the ruffles of fur around her neck. "Are you guys ready?" She asked with a smile before leading her team into the gym.

Inside was beautiful, so many picture lined the walls, all wonderfully taken, but focused mainly on bug pokémon. Walking around, Everest examined them in awe, they were so beautiful. So far, she really liked one of a Beautifly.

"Hi, can I help you?" A voice came from behind Everest, and she put on a brave face. Turning around, she was met with a blonde who had a camera around her neck. Must have been the artist, which made her the gym leader as well.

"Hey, um, I was wondering if I could challenge the gym leader." Gripping the straps of her backpack, she nervously smiled at her competitor.

"Of course. I'm the gym leader here. My name's Viola." The gym leader examined her opponent. She must have been a new trainer. That certain gleam of determination, the naiveness in her posture. Viola was often the first gym that was battled, so she was used to the look. Although, she may not be completely new if one of her pokémon had a silk scarf on.

"Everest." Nodding in approval, Viola led the way to the battlefield.

Everest was gazing up in awe at the greenhouse, it was so beautiful. Trees towered over everything, flowers blooming everywhere you looked. Lights hung from the ceiling like plants, and already Everest had an idea.

"This is so beautiful." Everest murmured while looking around, her pokémon nodded in agreement, and thankfully Viola didn't catch the small "Zor."

"Why thank you. I take great pride in my home. Now you can have this side." She pointed to the guest side, and Everest stood there, examining everything. The glint in her eye Viola missed which she would later pay for. "My assistant here will officiate. But, I want to ask you, have you ever had a gym battle before?" Everest blushed at the thought she could tell, and shook her head. She didn't need Viola to get in her head.

"The gym battle between Everest the challenger, and Viola the Santalune gym leader will now begin. Each side will have the use of two pokémon, and the battle will be over when either trainer's pokémon are unable to continue. Only the challenger may substitute pokémon." The woman (who looked an awful lot like a Burmy) announced, and now the battle would begin.

"I always have my lens focused on victory no matter what. Surskit, go!" The blonde yelled, and a small blue pokémon was released onto the field. Needing to know everything possible, Everest took up her Pdex and focused it on the bug pokemon.

"Surskit, the pond skater pokémon. Surskit can walk on water as if it were skating. It attracts prey with a sweet aroma it produces." The voice said, and she made a mental note to not get too close to smell it.

"Bug and Water type. Alright, let's go Spencer!" Everest decided, and she ran onto the field.

"Now battle, begin!" Viola grinned as she watched the rookie tense up, she was about to wipe the floor with her. It was her job to make sure kids took these battles seriously and treated their partners with respect.

"Spencer, don't let it get the upper hand. Use scratch!" Everest announced, and Viola grinned, already playing into her trap. Had the gym leader not been so cocky, she would have realized Eevees cannot learn scratch.

"Quick, protect!" The bug pokémon was protected well before Spencer even got in close, and Everest bit back a groan of annoyance. But at least now she knew one of the moves and she couldn't surprise her. Spencer was thrown back as she hit the protect wall, but landed on her feet.

"Stand your ground, leer." Everest commanded, and Viola smirked, leering wasn't going to do any good in a moment, so she let it land.

"Surskit, use ice beam and cover the field." That move really surprised Everest, and as ordered, the blue beam quickly covered the ground.

"Don't get hit!" Everest yelled, now was not the time. They needed to work in total secrecy until they had her trapped. In no time, every inch was covered in ice.

"Aaaa." Spencer agreed before slipping to the side. The ice gave zero traction, and unless Everest figured out a way to combat it, they were toast. Now, Eevee and Zorua didn't have very tractable paws… but, Spencer did have scratch…

"What a picture perfect field. Surskit, let's go!" The gym leader announced, and the blue pokémon began moving in circles around Spencer, taunting her. She would pay dearly for that, for allowing Everest even more time to plan out her next move.

"Spence, don't let yourself get caught in the taunt. Use scratch to find traction in the ice." Viola was surprised to hear the orders, and that they may actually work. However, if that Eevee was using Scratch on the ground, Surskit couldn't be scratched at the same time. "Then use Aerial Ace." Like the wind was knocked out of her, she watched as the Eevee took off down the field, claws shining, and Surskit was unable to change directions, and got hit.

By the time the smoke cleared, Surskit laid on the ground, fainted, and the Eevee was firmly planted in the ice.

"Surskit is unable to battle, Spencer wins." Burmy lady announced, and Everest smiled at her pokémon. One down, one to go.

Meanwhile, Viola's mind was racing a mile a minute. How… last she knew, Eevee's couldn't learn Aerial Ace. No matter, she had her own ace.

"Return Surskit, take a good rest. Let's do this Vivillon!" The butterfree-like Pokemon rose in he air, its patterned wings flapping effortlessly.

"Vivillon, the scale pokemon. Vivillon are skillfully able to find a source of water, it has been said you'll find a spring if you follow a Vivillon." So, that wasn't any help for Everest. But, it didn't necessarily say anything bad for her either.

"Okay Spencer, use Aerial Ace." Everest hoped that her pokemon could get up there, but there was doubt in her mind.

"Vivillon, use psychic!"Viola shouted, smirking, cause her opponent wasn't going to go unscathed after this. The gym leader's pokémon's eyes lit up, as it prepared the attack, but instead, Spencer kept moving unaffected. "What the- DODGE!" Viola screamed the last bit, but it was too late as the strange Eevee landed its mark on the flying pokemon. Vivillon fell to the ground, with Spencer landing on top unhurt. "How is this possible?"

"Nice job Spencer!" Everest shouted, and Viola was loosing her patience, just who was this girl? She would just have to use her next move.

"Use gust!" The pokémon picked itself up off the ice, and the Eevee couldn't run any longer, and got swept up by gust. Then, it all clicked into place once she saw the flickering form of a Zorua. The pokémon was pathetically thrown to the side as her attack stopped, and Viola's heart clenched when she saw tears in the dark-type's eyes.

"Checkmate. Use pursuit." Everest grinned, and it was then Viola realized it wasn't the gym leader making the rookie fall into her trap, this rookie was intelligent, and she had let her ego wander right into a trap. She couldn't even do anything as the dark type grinned and attacked her pokemon.

"Vivillon is unable to battle, which means Everest is the victor." Burmy woman announced, and Everest took that as her cue to hug her pokémon. She couldn't believe it, they won, Spencer did it! Smiling and laughing in pure joy, the new trainer pet both her pokémon, and they basked in the attention. Only when a shadow came over Everest did she look up.

"Congratulations. I'll admit that I made a mistake and became too confident. Thank you for checking my ego. You took me by surprise." Viola smiled at the girl, holding out her hand. In it was a shiny copper badge, and the trainer took it gleefully.

"Do you know what Spencer is?" Everest asked, nodding to the Zorua on the ground beside her. Viola simply kneeled down and pet the Zorua.

"I'm originally from Unova, where these guys are usually found. Haven't seen one in a long while though. Clever." Viola smiled and gave the girl a true smile. "We need a rematch one day. here, let me update your PDex, you can't always use this as your wining card, one day, everyone will be familiar with Zorua."

Upon leaving the gym, she nearly ran into a girl, a couple years younger than her, no doubt a citizen of the city. Her eyes were wide with awe as she looked at Everest and her pokemon.

"You just beat Viola!" She yelled excitedly, jumping up and down. Everest smiled and nodded before pulling the girl to the bench beside the gym.

"I only won because of my friends. Do you want to be a pokémon trainer?" Everest smiled lightly, and Spencer jumped up and allowed for the young girl to pet her.

"Yeah! I've always wanted a Fennekin, they're so pretty! Do you have a pair of rollerblades?" She suddenly asked, but with a slight lisp from missing two teeth.

"No… why do you ask?" She smiled even brighter, and shot up, beckoning for Everest to follow her.

"My dad sells rollerblades, and they're the bestest way to get around. He has a prototype he needs someone to try." Pulled into a small shop beside the gym, Everest followed obediently, it's not like she had anything better to do anyways. She let the girl blather on as they waited for her father to show up, and as promised, a man with salt-pepper hair showed, polishing a set of what looked to be metal wheels.

"Ah! Rinka! Who's your friend?" Everest got the sense that he was wise beyond his years, and she nodded in respect.

"Daddy! She just beat Viola with only one Pokémon! She's really strong." She insisted through missing teeth, and Everest tried to deny it.

"Well, since you're here, I don't suppose I could trouble you with a favor?" The man began, before bending behind the counter which was stocked with different trainer supplies.

"I don't mind helping, whatever it is." The older girl nodded and walked closer, observing the busy shop with interest.

"See, I don't know what my daughter said, but, I'm competing with another shop, just in Lumiose City, they sell bikes, but I Think that rollerblades could become very popular." He began, and pulled out really sleek looking black and silver rollerblades. "See, I made it so you don't need to wear them everywhere, they automatically build into training boots." He began before moving out from behind the counter. "You click your heels-" As he did so, she was amazed to see them click out, and he now was wearing rollerblades instead of boots. "And you now have rollerblades. Much easier to carry around than a bike if you ask me. But, I need someone to show them off, advertising you might say. And if you're a traveling trainer, you could meet all kinds of people and show them." He had hope gleaming in his eyes, and Everest was happy to take up the offer.

"Okay! They look pretty cool! I could use a speed boost." Nodding enthusiastically, she sat down at the tool bench. "Can they be added to these?"


	7. Route 4 pt 1

"Good luck Everest!" Rinka waved and smiled with her father holding her hand and waving with the other.

"Don't forget to come back!" He shouted after the trainer who had finally managed to get twelve yards without falling. She had the family's contact in her Pdex, and she intended to return when she could confidently ride the rollerblades. Icee and Spencer were following her obediently, giving her room in case she did fall.

"Okay guys, I have a plan. Let's stay on Route 4 until I get a handle on these things, that way, we can race and battle at high speeds, boost your evasion."

-ESI-

Through the next days, she got faster and faster. Yes, her muscles screamed every morning after using her legs to the extreme, but every day, the burn was lessened. Along with her, Spencer and Icee got faster too after having to keep up with their trainer.

A few of the people she had passed on the route had stopped her to ask where she got the rollerblades, and she pointed them in the right direction, hopefully her pals would be getting business. Along the cobblestone paths, there were hedge mazes, which they took time to explore as well, although, without wheels.

Sometimes they could see a couple fairy types, and plenty of grass types, but they remained on their path, solely focused on getting faster.

-ESI-

Route 4 wasn't all that amazing. It was a heavily trafficked area due to the proximity to their capital, so there weren't too many wild pokémon, but, there were plenty of trainers. Most they managed to beat, one Everest even let Icee battle because it was a Magikarp. But, five days later, they made it to the huge gates leading to the City of Light.

 **AN: Sorry it's short, the next update is way longer!**


	8. Lumiose City

"Woah, would ya look at this place." Everest murmured, astounded by the vastness of the city. Huge buildings loomed over them, but even taller than them was the tower, bright against the sunny sky. The streets were built for walking, and only a few cars even were cleared to drive around here. Streets were lined with people, and excitement stirred in Everest's stomach. She was well aware that there was a gym here, but she wasn't quite sure if her team was ready to take it on. Nonetheless, they could explore the city. The rollerblades gave her an amazing advantage.

"Alright guys, try and keep up!" Everest grinned and took off, her pokémon hot on her heels. She was careful to avoid people, weaving in and out of slow tourists.

With a grin on her face, she easily took the outside ring of the city. Excited yips and squeaks behind her confirmed her pokémon were behind her, and she took that as the okay to go even faster. The breaks in cobblestone made vibrations in her knees, cheers from small children echoed in her ears as she passed them, and she nearly jumped in fright when a familiar weight landed on her shoulder.

"Hey Icee!" She smiled at the Eevee who had somehow caught up to her. She was panting but nonetheless squeaked back, and Everest looked back at the path just in time to see a man right in her path. "Protect!" She managed to shout as she tried to break, and then impact. Luckily she had seen two spheres of green go up in between them, protecting the stranger and herself.

With a groan she managed to sit up, two pokemon encouraging her movement. Suddenly, a pale hand appeared in her vision, so she looked up.

"Hello, sorry, wasn't looking where I was going." The man smiled, who she realized pretty quickly as the Pokémon professor of Kalos.

"Oh mew, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking either Professor." She managed and took his hand. Clicking her heels together, they seamlessly fit back into her boots. "We were racing." She tried to explain, and her other pokemon jumped up onto her hat. Mostly everyone in Kalos knew who he was, and respected him, so he didn't even blink that she knew who he was.

"No matter. Oh wow, what beautiful pokemon you have, would you mind if you came back to my lab with me? That Eevee must be pretty spectacular to be able to form two protect barriers." He asked kindly, and she got the impression he wouldn't be offended if she declined.

"Sure! My name is Everest by the way." She followed beside him, Icee squirming to try and sniff the professor. She could almost feel the uneasiness Spencer got from watching everyone around her trainer, she had gotten rather protective lately. A sign that her evolution was approaching quickly as her hormones changed. "So, I know that you're the Pokémon Professor of Kalos." Everest began, and Sycamore looked at her respectfully as he opened the door to a huge building. "But what do you do exactly?" The black haired man seemed to find her question hilarious, as he broke out in laughter, but still managed to guide her through the entry of his lab.

"Well, my name is indeed Professor Sycamore, and my lab specializes in evolution and everything about the different changes in pokémon, like when Deerling change according to seasons." He explained. Everest looked around in interest around them, plenty of machines whirred and beeped around them. "I also give out starter Pokémon to those who ask." Awhile ago, Everest had thought about trying to get a starter from him, but she determined that she only wanted pokémon that she caught herself, not given.

As they continued through the huge maze of corridors and stairwells, they made it to a greenhouse that was filled with pokémon. Icee immediately jumped from her hold and began playing with a tiny Oddish. Spencer watched her carefully, along with Everest who was a little worried about their newest team member. Nonetheless, she stood beside the professor as he began checking out the pokemon that lived in the greenhouse.

"Can I ask where you found your Eevee?" He asked after a little while, Everest had finally gotten a nervous Belsprout to come out so she could pet it.

"It had been my mother's, he had gotten the egg from a friend of hers in Kanto. The egg was passed to me, Icee hatched almost three weeks ago." She smiled fondly and fed the grass-type a berry from her bag before she called for her Eevee. "Icee!" The excited pokémon burst from the bushes and knocked Spencer over.

The Zorua playfully growled at it, rolling over and nudging the baby in the side before getting up and prancing around. Thanks to their speed training, Icee was evenly matched in speed, making the game even more exciting.

"And your Zorua? They aren't very common around here." He frowned, trying to recall if there had been any sightings of them around Kalos recently.

"On Route 1, she saved me from a Fearow." Sycamore saved that information for later, he would look into it, so this must be the orphaned girl from Vaniville, after all, she was the only one who had recently set off on a adventure.

"Well, isn't that amazing! If you ever need anything, or find a sudden desire to help in research, don't feel shy." He grinned, noticing the gentleness she had when dealing with unfair pokémon, he didn't have a doubt in his mind she could turn out to be a very good Pokémon Ranger.

"Can I ask you about something I found in Santalune Forest?" Everest decided that this was probably one of the best figures to ask. He seemed knowledgeable, she searched her bag for the strange stone. Finally her fingers closed around the cool surface, which seemed to pulse in her grip. Holding it up for the professor to see, his eyes grew wide, and he seemed to have to fight himself from snatching it from her.

"Oh, this is truly astounding." He mumbled as he graciously took it from the new trainer. Everest was glad at least someone knew what it was. "This is called a Mega Stone. I've been researching it recently actually." Voice full of awe, he got out a magnifying glass to examine it better. Everest listened closely to the professor, completely enraptured. "There are legends of Pokemon evolving past their final evolution. It isn't permanent like other evolutions, but it brings them untold power. According to records, you have to have a Mega stone that matches the pokémon, as well as a Key stone."

While she didn't really understand everything the professor was saying, she was still interested. Knowledge is power. Suddenly, as if hit with a thunderbolt, the professor shot up and looked back to Everest with a grin.

"Follow me!" Taking off in a run, Everest began to jog in order to keep up. "Sophie! Cosette! Get a load of this!" Two women turned the corner, worried looks on their faces.

"What's wrong Professor? Did Gible get out again?" The bluentte asked worriedly, looking around for some unseen stressor.

"Everest found a Mega Stone!" He yelled excitedly like a little kid, nearly jumping up and down in joy. Meanwhile, one of his assistants grinned, the other had a pissed look on her face and slapped the Professor on the back of the head.

"You can't go around shouting in here. You nearly gave me a heartattack." She frowned disapprovingly, but then turned to the young trainer. "This is quite a find, nice work." Smile soft, she then snatched it from the professor to examine it. Meanwhile, the professor looked a kid who was denied dessert by an adult.

"Sophie, but it's so astounding!" He whined, but Sophie ignored him, meanwhile the more positive of assistants shook Everest's hand.

"Thank you, thank you! This should progress our research immensely!" She grinned, and Everest was wondering what was so special about a big marble, even if the professor even told her what he thought it to be.

"Everest, would you mind making a deal with us?" Sophie asked after a few moments of examining it, deciding it was genuine. After a small nod, Sophie took out her PDA. "If you were willing to lend it to us-" Everest nearly burst out in laughter, and stopped the woman right there.

"Well, neither of my pokémon are even fully evolved yet, I don't have any interest in it, at least, not right now. You guys can have it." Rendered speechless, all three scientists were frozen on the spot, to the point where Everest was worried she had broken them. After a few moments of awkward silence, she found herself taken into a huge group hug by three almost-strangers.

-EIS-

Later that night, Everest found herself wandering the streets of Lumioise once more, but this time with a full backpack and stomach. After the three adults had gotten over the shock, the professor demanded that she and her pokémon stay for dinner, which she gladly accepted. While in the lab, she got to meet all the different pokémon that inhabited the space, as well as seeing some of the different devices and machines he had. After that, she was given a fine sum of money, along with loads of potions, repels, revives, and other medicine as payment. She had tried to refuse, she but they wouldn't hear it. Now with more money than she had ever thought she would see, plus potions she couldn't even buy yet, she felt on top of the world, and brave enough to face the electric type gym.

However, that would have to be for a different day. It was late, and she still needed to find a room in a Center to stay in for a little while. Apparently the Professor, Colette, and Sophie wanted her back again tomorrow for a crash course on Mega Evolution so she could know just how much she helped them. She didn't mind, she didn't mind at all, this was certainly a cool experience, plus this way she could talk to people for an extended amount of time. But, all the looks she got on her way to the center had her on edge.

Everest wasn't quite sure if it was because of her rare pokémon, or some other reason, but she didn't want to find out. Luckily, the center was just around the corner, so she clicked her heels and tore down the streets, weaving around the few people still around. Nurse Joy snapped her eyes up ash the sudden entrance, but didn't mention it as Everest made her way to the counter.

"How can I help you?" Relaxed by her presence, it seemed Spencer was calmer as well, judging by the fur flattening.

"Could I have a room?" Grasping the cool key in her hand, Everest found her way to the room easily, and collapsed from everything that happened the past couple days, thankful to have a real bed tonight.


	9. Lumiose Gym

**AN: This is the longest yet. So far, it hasn't been too crazy, but here's the start of the real plot.**

The next couple days, Everest was happy to say that she got to know the scientists in Professor Sycamore's lab. Sophie was like what Everest imagined a mom should be. Kind, caring, but strict when it was necessary. The professor on the other hand was crazy and immature, but incredibly intelligent. Colette was careful, double checking everything, but kind nonetheless. They welcomed her in, and Everest was happy to spend a little down time with them.

"So, how many gym badges do you have?" The professor asked, she was currently sitting with the Gible they had recently caught, playing tug-of-war with a rope. He was teething so it was important to get all his anger out on the toy.

"One, I beat Viola a couple weeks ago. Spencer was amazing at it." Everest praised her pokémon, who was sitting off to the side, copying the form of the tiny dragon type with ease. Icee was shooting mist at Gible, trying to get a reaction so she could sweep in and get the toy for the seventh time. Turns out Gible don't have the best attention span as once more the toy went slack, and Icee jumped in and tried to snatch it from Everest.

"Are you going to challenge Prism Tower while you're here?" His kind eyes looked up over his computer, laughing when he saw that two Gible were chasing each other, one seemingly too fast for its biology.

"Well." Everest paused, she had been thinking about that for awhile. Clemont, the electric type gym leader was supposed to be really tough. But, she was already here… "I'd like to. Not sure if I can beat him, but it won't hurt. Any helpful suggestions?" She shrugged, hopeful, but she also was willing to accept defeat.

"Be ready to battle opponents in the air." With a grin, their conversation was cut off, Professor Sycamore was suddenly pushing her out the door of his office. "Go get 'em champ. We'll be here waiting." Before she even knew what hit her, she had her hands full with recalled pokéballs, and a confused Colette looking at her.

"Did he just push you out?" She asked, she was the least outspoken of the three, but was still pretty sure in her own voice. "Kick him out next time. Good luck in your battle by the way." The purple hair glinted in the sunlight as she turned away, meanwhile, Everest was very confused. If she didn't know better she would assume that they were all communicating psychically

"Right…" Sighing, she decided to bite the bullet, the last few days have been nice, there have been plenty of mock battles between Spencer and Icee in order to give her more experience.

In all of its glory, Prism Tower stood before her, the masterpiece of Lumiose City. Pearly white panels reflected the sunlight, standing tall above everything else. The league symbol sat above the main entrance, boasting the power held within. Clemont was still a new gym leader, he had begun the previous year when the city had approached him to battle inside the masterpiece he had powered. He was amazing with electric types, and it was because of his inventions that they were so highly powered.

She suspected that he used them when he was younger to boost his experiments, and they must be incredibly loyal to allow him to use their energy. Nervously, she padded forward, only one badge in her case to even prove she had some talent.

The steel walls pulsed with energy, but every light was beautifully crafted to show off the care and energy that it took to light it up. Everest knew that every gym was different, but this still was weird compared to Santalune.

"Hello! Are you here for a gym battle?" A young woman asked, she had what she assumed to be a uniform for the gym, it was mainly grey and black, but had a lightning bolt on the left sleeve. The pants and shirt were form fitting, but still managed to look somewhat stylish.

"Yes, if the leader is in." Brushing her hand over the two poke balls at her side, she could feel the small vibrations of her friends comforting her.

"He sure is! Follow me. Just through these doors." A metal door opened automatically to reveal a huge stadium, but she supposed if any gym should have bleachers, this one makes sense being in the capital. On the gym leader's side, she spotted a tool bench, along with a wide array of machines that were half built. "Clemont! You have a challenger!" A blonde head popped up from a mountain of metal, and he grinned and waved.

"Welcome to my gym! Let me just-" As he struggled to get around the heap, he tripped over a bike wheel to fall face down on the dirt. She winced but didn't comment on it as he rushed to his spot on the field. "Okay, I'll match however many pokémon you have with you, you can exchange. First one out of useable pokémon looses, alright?" Everest nodded and held up her two balls. In response, the inventor held up two of his own, and tossed the others behind him, which were suddenly caught by a robot.

"The battle between Clemont, the Lumiose Gym leader and Everest from Vaniville Town is about to begin. The gym leader will pick his Pokémon first." She motioned for Clemont to release his chosen pokémon, and he willingly released a flash of scarlet light.

"Emolga, I choose you." A smaller Pokémon came into view, it had wings that extended from its arms, big ears and eyes, yellow cheek spots like Pikachu has. Everest grinned and took out her first Pokémon, bringing it to her lips before releasing her onto the field.

"Sandshrew." Her whisper wasn't even noticed by anyone except for her friend in the poke ball, then released the illusion. "Go Spencer!" As requested, she appeared as a ground type, and she hoped that Clemont wouldn't suspect anything.

"Nice choice, it may be impervious to electric attacks, but I'm prepared for this. Emolga, Quick attack." Everest paled at the attack, hoping her friend is up for the speed match.

"Pursuit." Speaking lowly enough for the strong ears to pick up on her command, but not enough so Clemont has enough time to question the move pool, he seemed too smart not to pick up on it like Viola did. Spencer managed to avoid the first dive Emolga took at her, sidestepping and ducking. As Emolga rose once more to the skies to get out of range, Spencer jumped, paws dark with shadow.

The only reaction the gym leader was to frown before he nodded to his Pokémon. The flying-type nodded and cried out loudly, rising even higher in the air.

"Aerial ace!" He shouted, and Everest laughed because she was about to give the same attack. Going over her list of possibilities, she knew what had to happen.

"Okay, use scratch when it comes in close." The opponent flew in fast, faster than she thought possible. The girl winced when it hit its mark, and the illusion faded. She ignored Clemont's excited gasp and watched for Spencer's claws to extend and bat Emolga out of the air. "Use aerial ace while it's down, pursuit if it's conscious." Satisfaction rose in her chest as the flying type was struggling to get to its feet, stunned by the harsh impact it received from the ground.

Spencer came in quick, maybe not as fast as the flying type, but still managed to hit her target, and the pokémon fell to the ground, passed out.

"Emolga is unable to battle, which means Spencer is the victor. The gym leader will pick his next pokémon." The assistant announced, and Everest had to think deeply about her next move. Her usual ace was out in the open. Sure, Spencer was a good battler, but she always had a sense of security with the illusion in place. Wondering idly if she would have to use her other pokémon, she hoped not, Icee might not be ready to face a huge electric type.

"Nice work buddy." Clemont returned his pokémon with a small smile, then met Everest's eyes. "That was incredibly clever! But, you won't be able to get my next pokemon the same way. Heliolisk, let's go." Next, a bipedal. Yellow pokemon came out. It's head was black, and a fan extended behind its head as it hissed at Spencer. A long, yellow and orange tail swished wildly, creating an intimidating figure that stood a whole foot above Spencer.

"Fake Tears." On command, the small pokémon burst into tears, and the previously angry lizard faltered.

"Don't fall for it Heliolisk! Use Thunderbolt!" His command fell short as the lizard stood still, unsure as to whether to follow its trainer's commands. She felt a little bad making it fall for their trick, but that was the method of dark types after all.

"Pursuit, but feint to the left." Perhaps the pokémon had been hurt in another battle, or maybe that was just how it stood, but it favored its right side, the left behind by two feet, and if she could imbalance it, maybe force it into a move. Obediently, Spencer ran to the electric-normal duo type, which hissed in alarm before Spencer ducked to the left, and hit it. Only, when they made contact, it shifted so its tail hit Spencer in the side.

Electricity raced through Spencer, and she winced as a thunderbolt hit its mark, the dark type couldn't do anything about it.

"Spencer is unable to battle, which means Heliolisk is the winner, the challenger will reveal her next pokémon." Running her hand over the cool surface of the ball which held her Eevee, she had faith in the little thing, but she hoped that she wouldn't be scared.

"Okay Icee, let's do this." The soft brown furred creature was revealed, who squeaked in excitement at being out of her ball. "Icee, this is a battle. There's your opponent. Just like on Route 4." She nodded in understanding at tried to growl at the Heliolisk, but ended up being more like a yip. Without needing to be told, she released mist onto the field, creating a thick cover over almost half the field, which Icee disappeared into.

"Don't let it sneak up on you, listen carefully." The gym leader's advice would be in vain, they had practiced running quietly. As a smaller Pokémon, Everest knew that both would need to be trained in stealth, at least for now until their power began to grow.

A hazel streak left the mist cloud, running right into the Kalos pokémon, a tackle that hit harsher because of a protect ring wrapped around the Eevee. Stumbling back, Heliolisk hissed and tried to send a thunder shock at Icee, but it went way off target. Luckily for the brown pokémon, she had gotten much faster, and was able to avoid the attack.

"Cover the ground in grass knot." With the leader's command, vines crept up on the battlefield, growing and breaking through the dirt. Everest nervously bit her lip before turning to Icee.

"Watch your feet, make it fall with you." Still unable to actually hit Icee, Clemont's pokemon hissed angrily as the Eevee left up onto the lizard's back, and the grass trying to get Icee, wrapped around Heliolisk.

"Nice work, return." Everest stared at the leader in confusion, and he just shook his head with a grin. "That was really good battling, especially with two unevolved pokémon." The blonde praised as he walked towards her, sifting through his pockets as he searched for something. "I enjoyed our battle, it's been weeks since someone has defeated me. I'm proud to present you with the Voltage badge."

"Thank you!" Everest smiled and took the badge gingerly, letting Icee sniff it as the pokémon hopped up on her shoulder. "Your Emolga was beautiful." Clemont seemed to like the compliment, proudly patting the electric-flying type ball.

"Took forever to learn all the tricks he knows." The gym leader sighed, but kept a smile on his face. "Now, if that Eevee of yours evolves into a Jolteon, and you need advice, let me know." Everest accepted the number for the PDex thingy.

"Thank you, so much! I will certainly look into it." With that, she waved goodbye, thanking the gym leader for his kindness as the excitement of the events crept up on her. "Icee! We've beat two gym leaders!" She yelled excitedly, the Eevee pranced around the hallways happily, barking in excitement. "Come on out." Spencer appeared by her side, and she took the weak dark-type in her arms. "Icee won!" Spencer called out happily to Icee as they left the building, coming into the direct sunlight.

Something felt off, however, when they made it to one of the avenues that would take them back to the pokémon laboratory. The hairs rose on her arms, up ahead, she could see an odd figure. The avenue was oddly empty, no one else on the street, save for the one man up ahead. He was decked out in charcoal grey, silver boots rose to his knees. The man was facing away from Everest, seemingly unaware of her presence. Just when she was about to turn around and leave the weird situation, he turned around slowly and saw her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my lucky day." He spoke cooly, sending shivers up her spine. From her arms, Spencer hissed threateningly, fur standing on end.

"Who are you?" He only laughed at Everest's question, then proudly gestured to the huge, scarlet R on his chest. He stepped closer, now within ten yards, she swallowed back her fear, for now.

"Well, missy. I'm a part of Team Rocket." Spencer jumped from the dark haired girl's arms, her injuries long forgotten. "Ha, you think your little fox is going to help you? That's cute. Do you even know who Team Rocket is?" She didn't get a chance to respond, because a moment later, a black and white pokemon appeared. She took a step back, worrying about what could happen.

Everest recognized the Pokémon, it was a Pancham, a fighting type. The type both of her pokemon were weak to. Deciding if need be, she may be able to click her heels and skate away quickly. But, if it knew any distance attacks, she would be opening herself up to whatever attacks this guy was willing to throw at her. He didn't seem to be of very high moral caliber, she she didn't want to take her chances.

"See, we specialize in, _finding_ , rare and powerful pokémon." He grinned, and Everest held onto Icee at his words. Her gaze fell to her friends, knowing very well how rare they were considered, at least in their current region. "And, your pokémon are just too good to pass up. Hand them over, and I won't have the chance to kill you, or your weakling pokémon." The threat cooled her to the bone, but she snapped out of it.

"Never. You'll never steal my pokémon." She hissed before looking to Spencer. The dark type was snarling maliciously, a dangerous look the trainer had yet to see. The Pancham on the other hand, it had scars littering its body, it was no doubt tortured out of its mind to come to a state like this. She didn't think Fake tears would even do anything. "Aerial Ace." That was the only move they had that would even do any damage, and she wasn't looking to fool around.

"Chop it in half." The man smirked, bloodlust in his eyes. Holding her breath, she wanted to squeeze her eyes shut, she didn't want to subject her friends to this torture. "You too Foongus." Another pokémon was released, and at the word, Icee growled and jumped in front of her trainer. Caught between two completely different battles, the trainer barely saw the hit on Pancham hit.

There was a little bit of crimson blood, but not enough for the fighting type to falter, instead, his hit met cleanly, and Spencer was thrown to the side like trash.

"Spencer!" She cried out, she tried running towards her, but Icee jumped in front, blocking her from running, but also blocking a few roots from entangling around her legs. The Eevee looked to her, squeaking for help. No matter how skilled Icee may be, she has only been in a few battles. "Mist, then ram it with protect." Getting another chance to watch Spencer, her heart sank, the dark pokemon was struggling to stand. Pancham was creeping closer, a sick grin stretched across its face, the little twig on the verge of falling from its mouth.

"Give up yet?" He called from across the road, a devilish smirk as he watched her movements, her pokémon failing to keep up with his own. Before she could answer, a loud cry went around the battle field, all eyes focused on Spencer. Managing to stand, her paws had enveloped in a cold darkness, and with a swift movement, took off, slamming into the Pancham. Knocked back, the enemy pokémon snarled lowly at Spencer's regain of energy.

Icee was still hidden in the mist luckily, so she didn't have to worry about that, it was an evasion game the normal pokémon could manage, at least for now. Spencer, she was worried about. All of the red on her couldn't be natural, as evident by the bloodied paw prints and the pool of blood where she had laid. The Pancham still looked little worse for wear, and it was now that Everest wished she had more pokémon.

"Let's finish this up." Another pokémon was let out at his command. It was tall and intimidating, tan and black made up the stripes, a pink underbelly even while it stood bipedal. A long serpentine tail waved behind it, spikes layered on it. Black rimmed the eyes, making the crocodilian appear like wearing shades. This one, without a foe, stalked towards Everest, making a show of it.

And then, the avenue was bathed in a bright light. All fights stopped, and Spencer's form grew blinding. Biting back her shock, she kept her eyes on her dark-type. Her form was growing rapidly, rising up at least four feet, spikes appearing, claws sharpening. Her evolution was rushed by the dire situation, it was easy to tell as the usually painless system forced Spencer into a roar of pain. Biting back her desire to run to her friend, she watched as the light faded away, revealing a very different pokémon.

It rushed at Pancham, not even giving it a moment to attack before the newly long claws dug deep into the rough hide. The pokémon was recalled to the rocket member with a sneer.

"Get the trainer!" He shouted at his pokémon, who turned to Everest with an almost robotic look. In a flash, her Zoroark had the reptilian pokémon pinned, snarling in its face. In response, it growled back, hitting its tail against the concrete. The sound so loud it reverberated through the stone, sending shockwaves up her legs. Forced to her knees, she could feel earthquake happening from the mystery pokémon.

The last thing she managed to see, was the claws slashing at the hooded eyes of the tan and black pokémon.


	10. Lumiose Medical Center

Everything hurt. Everything. Everest tried to open up her eyes, but nothing happened. trying again, it felt like she was ripping tape from her eyes, only to be met by a dim light. The room she was in was pretty empty, a normal hospital recovery room she noted upon inspection. The rough cotton sheets over her legs, the electronic bed, an IV hung next to her bed, a red button on her lap. An overwhelming sense of guilt hit her as she realized she didn't know where her pokemon are, if they are even okay.

A nurse appeared only ten seconds after she pressed the red button, a kind, but sad look hung over her eyes as she walked in.

"Where are my pokemon?" The nurse handed her a glass filled with water, before she began checking on Everest's vitals.

"Your Eevee is going to be just fine, in fact, she is allowed to enter as soon as you awoke." Everest smiled at the fact, but not much when she didn't mention her newly evolved pokemon. "Your Zoroark though…" breathing heavily, she waited for whatever the nurse was going to say, and she knew it was going to be bad.

Evolving when pokemon are already hurt can do a lot to damage the pokemon. Forcing that much strain on an injured pokemon wasn't healthy, and in Everest's opinion, Spencer seemed a little young to be evolving.

"She is in critical care. The evolution really damaged her bone structure. Her bones needed to be reset, she needs at least two weeks of bed rest before se can move." Everest felt the tears before she even realized she was crying, struggling to sit up, she smiled through the pain. Spencer would be okay.

"But, she'll be okay eventually?" The nurse nodded and gave Everest some pain killers.

"Yes, don't worry about that. As soon as you can get up and walk, which will be sometime tomorrow, you can see her. In the meantime, rest. There are some people here that want to talk to you. I'll let them know you can talk in half an hour, and I'll send in your Eevee." Everest thanked the lady once more, and only a few minutes later, the brown fluff ball came running in.

"Icee!" A very energetic Eevee began licking Everest's cheek, worriedly rubbing her head up against Everest's. "Hey girl. You were so brave." With her pokemon cuddled up on her lap, Everest did her best to recall what happened, but came up short any moment after seeing the reptilian pokémon, shortly there after, she fell into a fitful sleep.

-ESI-

"Can we come in?" The door opened to reveal Everest's guests. The professor, Sophie, and Cossette walked in, waving or dipping their head in greeting as they filled the small room.

"What happened?" Sophie's calm voice filtered over the room, and Icee watched the group suspiciously, surely now more protective than ever of her trainer. Recalling the events in her head seemed too real, she felt sick.

"It was after I beat Clemont. We were walking back to meet with you, when we came across this dude." The further she got into her story, the more angry and frustrated the professor looked. The lab assistants were scribbling down information as she continued, having to stop every few minutes because the reality of it all came crashing down. "Did you see Spencer?"

"Yes. It is quite astounding what she did for you." The professor sighed, while the trainer hung onto every word, worried sick for her friend. "By my calculations, she would have evolved in a few weeks under normal circumstances. But, when you were in danger, the rush of hormones triggered it, triggering the process." Nodding numbly, she waited to hear more of the story. Collette pulled a chair up beside the bed, watching the trainer worriedly.

"The police received a call about a disturbance, they were the first ones on scene, according to their reports, an earthquake attack was aimed towards you, knocking you out." Recalling the scene, she shivered, but nodded anyways, knowing exactly what the woman was talking about. "Spencer and Icee fought off the Rocket, and when the police were about to apprehend him, he escaped, disappearing in the streets of the city." The fact that he was still out there frightened Everest, he was after all willing to go to extreme lengths to catch her pokemon, who knows what he might try next if he thinks they're worth it.

"Can't he come back at anytime then?" Icee seemed to be able to sniff out Everest's fears, and snuggled into the trainer's arms, trying to reassure her.

"The hospital is under constant surveillance. After the attack, the police presence was increased." Shaking his head, the professor pulled out a tablet, one he used for research. On it, was a video of a black and red pokemon. "This is live. Right now, she's resting. She hasn't awoke yet, after the police showed up, she was protecting you from everyone, including the police. They had to tranquilize her." Gingerly, she took the tablet from the professor, looking over the slumbering pokemon. Icee whined and nudged the screen with her nose, seemingly upset by her friend's condition.

"Who is team rocket anyways?" All three scientists glanced towards each other, unsure of what their answer was going to be, as if they had to hide something. Everest narrowed her eyes in frustration, why were they trying to keep something secret?

"They're a criminal organization based out of Kanto. Currently, Kanto, Johto, and the Sevii Islads are fighting them off, trying to destroy what footholds they've found in the regions. Their Champions of course are heading the battles." Sophie eventually spoke up, her voice shaking.

Champions are in charge of protecting their region, that is their job. As the strongest trainer, they are said to be able to stop anything in their tracks. She knew Lance of the Kanto region was specifically powerful, with a whole team of dragons. The rocket she fought would have been obliterated by even a swipe of his dragons' claws. But that begged the question, why hasn't she heard of Diantha going after Team Rocket.

"And Diantha?" The champion of Kalos, Diantha, was a movie star as well. Everyone loved her, mainly for her looks and kindness. But, Everest hadn't heard of any resistance against the Rockets. Sycamore frowned at her question, and began pacing.

"The gym leaders as well as the Elite four have begun to fight them. The gym leaders have been pretty successful at defeating them when they lie in their cities, but you know as well as I do, that isn't the only responsibility they have." She nodded numbly, Clemont for instance, had to power the city, he expanded much of the infrastructure, and had to deal with challengers. In the biggest city in the world, he couldn't do all of that and protect the city completely. "The attacks aren't well organized, communication between forces has been off, and so far, Diantha hasn't done anything about the situation." Her stomach turned at the thought, why hasn't their biggest protector done anything? Then, she recalls what she has seen the champion doing lately.

"Don't tell me, she's too busy with her new movie." Collette shrugged, and the other two looked away, clearly not supportive of the situation. "But, she's supposed to be the Champion first." Struggling to find words, she could recall hundreds of stories of fierce Champions, going to the extreme to protect their homeland dating back as far as history records went. While Diantha did what? She was filming movies.

"Not many are aware of this, at least not yet. She's still front and center, just for all the wrong reasons. I'm worried it will take something awful to bring her back to her senses." Rendered speechless, Everest just sat there, petting the soft fur of her companion, wondering what that event might have to be.

-ESI-

Two weeks later everyone was all healed up, and Spencer had finally woken up. At the time, when she first woke up, she thought Everest was still in danger. The dark type had tried to attack a nurse, until Everest came along to calm her down. Their reunion was amazing, and Everest filled her in on Team Rocket and their goals.

It seemed by through only a few attacks, team rocket had made a dangerous enemy, and _no one would know that until much later_.

When they were packing up, getting ready to depart, a small knock came from the door. Professor Sycamore walked in only a few seconds later with a couple items in hand. Wordlessly, he handed her an envelope, which she opened.

"Professor? Are you getting rid of me?" She looked at the details of the airplane ticket. Destination: Castelia City, Unova. She hadn't ever heard of the city, but she also didn't know much about Unova either. He laughed heartily, shaking his head negatively at her joke.

"No, not yet at least." He smiled warmly, pulling up a photo of something on his tablet. "This is Castelia City, largest in Unova. To the north of it, is a place called the Desert Resort." The city was buzzing, even from just a still photo. At least dozens of huge skyscrapers, a handful of piers, along with trains were the few thing she could see past all the citizens. "I was hoping you could help me with a project."

"Does it have to do with the Mega Stones?" In response, he held out the other item. It looked a little like binoculars, except for the lenses, there were crystals.

"Yes, I've heard tales of powerful items hidden in the resort. I was hoping that one of these may be what I'm looking for." He began, waving the objects around as he completely forgot about it, she was slightly worried he may accidentally throw it.

"And you want to send me?" Why her? It wasn't like she was powerful or strong. They were nearly killed a couple weeks ago.

"You and your team are perfect for the job. You already know about the Mega stones, and there isn't anyone I trust more with this job. You're no pushover, plus, your team won against type matchups they should have lost." Sycamore explained, his words filled with passion, and it renewed her lust for battling.

"Okay, so when do I leave? And how long do I stay? And when do I know that I've finished the job?" Leaving Kalos? It sounded like a dream come true, she barely ever left her hometown, and now she could travel to Unova for a while? Sounded great.

"Hey, and I thought I was going to have to convince you." Everest looked down at her hands, biting her lip. Maybe she sounded a little too overzealous to be leaving? "The plane leaves tonight, it will arrive in Unova two hours later, and I already booked a hotel room for you." He handed her a receipt which went into the envelope, which held money and the ticket. "You can stay as long as you wish. The desert is over 100 square miles, so you can take it at your own pace. I suggest no longer than a three weeks, however. You are still on track to gain all eight badges, but spend too much time in Unova could stop you in your tracks." After doing some slight estimations, she figured she was about 7 weeks along, giving her about 40 weeks to get the other six badges and prepare for the Conference.

"The plane will fly over night, about 6 hours, arriving in Unova for the early morning. I suggest you sleep on the plane." Packing up her things, she had to grin, a new place, new pokémon, a new adventure.


	11. Castelia City

Castelia City was huge, rivaling Lumiose City for sheer number of people. But, while in Lumiose, there were only a few tall towers, here, they all stood taller than the most famous building in all of Kalos. Icee sat on her shoulder, watching the hustle and bustle with excitement. Spencer on the other hand, she was a Liepard, slinking around by her feet, hissing at people who got too close. That was a feat in itself, because the streets were absolutely packed with people rushing to get to their job or home. A few times Spencer nearly got hit by a briefcase, and Icee had to use protect to prevent the angry fox from getting revenge. Finally, she spotted the Center, apparently her hotel was part of the center, used for traveling CEO's and such.

"Thank Arceus." Mumbling, she nearly took back her praise when she entered the center. Inside proved to be busy too, and three different nurses stood at the front desk, each helping at least four separate people at once. Taking her place in line, she watched as Spencer stalked off, sniffing a couple people, they probably had something hidden. Icee on the other hand jumped off of her shoulder, moving towards two toddlers who she allowed to pet her.

"Can I help you?" Breaking out of her daze, she gave the nurse the receipt, who sighed thankfully. "I'm glad for a couple small jobs." She smiled before giving Everest a key.

"Thank you! Guys, lets go." Her pokemon left their distractions willingly, and just before she could press the elevator button, a hand gripped her shoulder.

"Hey, could I- sorry, didn't mean to threaten your Liepard like that." A boy asked from behind her, letting go of her shoulder once Spencer realized someone touched Everest, and snarled dangerously at the kid.

"It's okay. How can I help you?" Icee squeaked in greeting to the guy, he must have been a couple years older than her, and was very cautious while looking at her dark type.

"Right, oh yeah. Did you get your Eevee from the sewers?" Turning to look at the boy closer, she thought he was trying to insult her, but he looked completely serious.

"Um, no. I'm from Kalos…what do you mean, the sewers?" The boy blushed and tried to apologize, guess she asked that more harshly than she intended.

"Oh, well, that's the only place you can find Eevee's in Unova. They're awfully rare, but I've heard of people finding them down there. I wanted one myself, and wanted to know how you found it." His explantation made sense, but as she looked down to Icee, she frowned. What were proud creatures like an Eevee doing in the sewer?

"This city? In the sewers here?" He nodded, pulling out a map before pointing to one of the piers.

"See, you can get in here, at the end. But only at certain times of the year. It's accessible right now, but its filled with poison types. I've gone in there a few times, but there are hordes of Zubat and Grimer, I can only search about a day before I have to retreat." That brought a brilliant idea to mind. Who's to say she couldn't find another Eevee? Maybe it would make Icee really happy.

-EIS-

That kid was right, there were a lot of Zubat. Seemingly coming from nowhere, they would swoop down and try to bite her. Icee and Spencer would protect her, half the time she actually was in a protect shield anyways. Thankfully, there were a few bridges crossing over the sludge in the bottom of the tunnel. No doubt that was where the Grimer were coming from.

They were a rare case in the world. Actually coming from poisonous substances that are immobile for too long, they would come to life after a warming period. No doubt one was 'born' every day. Hopefully most of them lived in the really dark corners of the sewers, where they could become Muk in peace, not bothering any living thing that couldn't handle their toxic fumes.

While she was holding the dowsing machine, hoping to at least learn how to use it before getting to the desert, she jumped three feet in the air when a blue light flickered on.

"Icee, is anything on the ground?" The Eevee began sniffing the ground, turning over an old wrapper, they didn't find anything. Sighing, she kept walking, hoping the glitch would leave- until the light flickered green. "Ohh, okay." She followed the bridge, happy to see it change to yellow. "And then, the lights crossed to make a red X." Icee, anything?" Her eyes weren't nearly as good as the Eevee, and grinned in triumph when she saw something shiny in her mouth. "Good girl." She took the cartridge from the pokémon, brushing the dirt off of the mysterious item. "No way."

Under all the dirt and grime- and what looked to be remnants of a dead Ratatta- was a red case. Inside was a pristine silver disk, words on the inner circle read: FLAMETHROWER. Recalling all the hours she spent rummaging through the PDex, she already knew what she would do with this TM, so long as it hasn't been used before…

"Spencer, come here." The Zoroark walked over carefully, watching so she didn't step on the Eevee who was happily trying to bite the Zubat flying around them. "How would you like to learn a fire type move?" The teal eyes brightened at her question, before rumbling happily. "Okay, so, I think it works like this." Talking to herself, she pulled out her all purpose machine: the PDex, and fiddled with it till she found the disk button.

About two minutes later, she finally found it, and managed to place it into the tray. Following the generic instructions on the screen, she aimed the light at Spencer.

"Stay still." Doing as asked, she stood stone still, and a white light began scanning over the tall pokemon. After a few clumsy attempts at actually starting the process, the light turned a fiery orange, before a beep exited around them. "How do you feel?" So maybe, she shouldn't have taught her pokémon a move this destructive in an enclosed space, but she was still so excited with her find.

In a bright flash, warmth crept into her bones, and flame shot away from Everest, towards a bunch of Zubat. A few of them were easily burnt to a crisp, and she winced at the sight. Oops, probably should avoid tiny pokemon with that attack… At least they all were moving, or twitching…some will be a lot more wary of travelers from now on. But she couldn't find the pity within herself for the blood-sucking pokemon. There were stories of hikers getting drained of their blood, to the point of death, and after seeing them swoop down at her, she had no doubt they were true.

"We'll work on it. But, nice work." The dark type growled maliciously, smirking at her new power. Icee squealed happily, intrigued with the new move. Slipping the disk back in her bag, she knew it to be worthless, but that didn't depreciate the sentimental value. "Let's go this way."

-EIS-

The tunnel she picked turned out to be favorable, as it was steadily growing lighter, a natural type of light, not from the poor quality of lights on the walls. A rusted set of stairs quickly appeared through the gloom, a bright doorway at the top.

"We didn't circle around, did we?" This set looked like it was used a lot less, dirt covered the steps, small pokemon footprints interrupted the dust, no human footprints though. "I wonder." Mumbling to herself, she walked up the stairs, keeping eyes peeled for any pokémon that wasn't a Grimer or Zubat.

Blinded for a moment, she was forced to rub her eyes for a couple moments before the Trainer could open them once more. Gasping, she was in awe at the beauty before her. The small grove was beautiful, trees canopied the break in the sky. Flowers and grass grew wildly, unchecked by any person. Wild pokémon were peeking out at her from the tall grass. She could see some Rattata, a Skitty, and two Bunneary. Above in the trees, a few Cottonee and some bird pokemon she wasn't familiar with looked down curiously.

Icee squeaked excitedly, prancing towards the other pokémon. Her calls proved fruitful, as she soon had two playmates, two other Eevees appearing from _somewhere_. Everest watched in awe, the three together acted like long lost friends. As she wondered if they're related, she sat down, trying to ease the pokémon of this little reprieve.

She saw a few of them had scars, and they were most likely from staged battles. No doubt at least a couple of these guys were abandoned by their trainers, others probably wandered in after getting stuck in the sewers.

Icee was a little taller than one of the Eevee, while the other one was taller than both. They were playing a version of tag, which included the smaller of the Eevee running around in what looked like Quick Attack, easily out running the other two.

Pretty soon, there were others joining in, a Rattata and Skitty easily finding their place in the tussle. Beside Everest, Spencer sat on the ground, still protectively watching the wild pokémon for any indication they may attack her trainer. She was easily the biggest of all the pokemon here, so Everest doubted any of these passive creatures were even going to try. Icee came bounding up to her trainer a little while later, sniffing her pockets and chittering happily.

"What's up girl?" Laughing happily, she picked up Icee and gave her a quick hug before the Eevee took her normal place on her shoulder. Small yips followed, and Everest watched in awe as the two Eevee approached her.

The taller was more confident, holding its head high as it approached. Hiding behind the content figure, the smaller Eevee looked around the shoulders, curious brown eyes looked up at Spencer. The dark type rumbled in greeting, staying protective, but loosing the intimidating aura.

"Hey there." Everest greeted softly, holding out a hand for the curious pokemon to sniff. After what sounded like reassurances from Icee, the taller of the two stepped forward and sniffed her hand. With her other hand, the trainer slipped her grip into her bag. Her hands closed around a familiar round object. While the brown creature was distracted, she pulled it out before pushing it in front of the Eevee. "Do you like these?" It perked up once it saw the Pomeg berry, eagerly biting into it.

This gave the shy Eevee a chance to move forward, cautiously sniffing Everest's outstretched hand. Now in full view, she sadly regarded the huge slash through the pokemon's ears, a chunk taken from both. It looked like a much stronger pokémon had taken their claws or talons to the defenseless Eevee, she was betting on poachers as she found what looked like scars from a trap meant for much larger pokemon on its legs, this pokémon had been through a lot of shit before finding this little reprieve.

The Eevee deemed her safe, and decided to curl up next to her knee, watching the other Eevee demolish the fruit. Wordlessly, she took another berry from her bag, and placed it in front of the smaller Eevee. With cautious movements, the trainer slowly began petting the scared pokémon, and the world melted away.

 _From across the park, the wild creatures decided that the human was safe, but didn't want to approach. This was a sanctuary for the lost pokémon, and it was designed long ago by wiser entity. They all knew that only a few trainers could find their way in, and when they did, they were supposed to do great things. The two Eevees were meant to go with her, as all are meant to leave one day._

 _-_ EIS-

The sun began to set, casting the park in an orange glow. Everest decided now was the time to leave. Standing up carefully, she, Spencer, and Icee were about to leave when a small bark got her attention. The taller Eevee looked to be grinning at her, wagging its tail excitedly before barking once more.

"Do you want to come with us?" When she first arrived, Everest wanted to catch at least one new friend, but as her time went on in this park, she knew each pokémon here had been through awful things, and she wasn't about to take them away from their sanctuary. The Eevee yipped excitedly, pawing gently at her legs. "I'll take that as a yes." She laughed and tried to find the compartment full of poke balls. The professor had given her a few, ones that she didn't recognize to try out. Pulling out one with yellow and blue markings, she presented it to the wild Eevee.

The Eevee barked once at its companion, before turning to the ball, and pressing its nose to the button. In a flash of bright red, the pokémon was turned into light and sucked into the machine. The ball shook once, twice, and then it beeped.

"We got a new friend!" Everest cheered excitedly, pumping her fist into the air. Then, her gaze fell to the smaller Eevee, who was watching the ball with sadness. "Would you like to come along with us? You can stay together that way?" Presenting yet another pokéball, this one was white and pink, with a huge heart on the front. Without hesitation, it too tapped the button, this time with a paw. The ball beeped straight away, and the shock fell on her shoulders. "No way." She just doubled how many pokémon she had, in less than a minute. Deciding that she should talk to them now, they were released onto the field. "It's getting dark, do you want to say goodbye before we leave?" The smaller Eevee licked her ankle before prancing off to the bushes to say goodbye, and she observed with a small smile.

-EISEE-

Everest's new Eevee led them out of the sewers through a secret tunnel. It proved to be fruitful, as they were led through an abandoned section, void of wild pokémon. Now, she laid on her bed, her hair drying on the pillow after her shower. Now, she didn't smell of the sewer thankfully, and she scrubbed all members of her team as well.

All were laid out, resting and basking in the cleanliness. The scarred Eevee, which turned out to be male, along with the other one… (she really needed to name these guys) sat atop her chest, snoozing peacefully. Curled up against her right side, Icee was purring in delight as Spencer groomed the brown fur. The Zoroark laid at the head of the bed, doubling as Everest's pillow. The last member of her team was lying on her legs, content. While she honestly was tired, Everest scrolled through her PDex, memorizing the new stats listed.

Eevee- 1'9", Male, Rash in nature. Ability: Run Away.

Known moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Baby Doll Eyes, Swift.

Eevee- 1'0", Male, Quiet in nature. Ability: Anticipation.

Known Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack.

Say what you like about originality, but Everest was proud of her team. She knew she could try and determine what they each evolved into, to try and counteract the weaknesses she already had. Try and evolve them into what would fit her fighting style, but that didn't appeal. Yes, she wanted to be strong, she wanted to be able to protect people from Team Rocket, but above all else, she wanted to make friends, she wanted to be able to rely on her pokémon and vise versa.

Everest needed to her family to trust her, and be who they wanted to be. They would become strong together, their own way. For all she cared, they could all become Umbreon, maybe Everest could become a dark type expert.


	12. Route 4 (Unova)

The next morning, Everest began early. Before the sun was even up, Everest was passing into Route 4 with three Eevee, along with a Panpour on her hat.

"So, considering we now have three Eevee, do either of you want nicknames right now? Or, we could wait for awhile." The scarred Eevee in his arms squeaked in excitement, rubbing his nose against the black and red top. "Is that a yes?" She laughed lightly, petting the brown fur. From above, she saw Spencer peek downwards over her hat, smiling down to the Eevee. "How about you?" Watching the tallest male, the proud normal-type shook his head no.

With a small nod, she could respect that. Running her hands over the fur, she continued to walk. Everest walked through a suburb, this was the beginning of the route. She was willing to bet that since this was a residential area, there weren't that many pokémon, and the ones that did live there, were deemed passive enough to live wildly next to humans. She could see a few Pidove flying above, cooing softly, but other than that? Nothing.

"So, do you want a human name? Like Spencer has?" The Eevee seemed to ponder it as the walked down the sidewalk. Since it was so early, she hadn't seen any trainers yet, so far, they didn't even need to battle. After a few moments, the Eevee seemed to shrug. "Let's try a few. You tell me what you think. How about… Dexter? Or… Alden? Kael, Orson? West. Shawn?" All the names were easily shot down, Then, the last one, he perked up. "Shawn?"

Shawn excitedly jumped out of her arms, barking at Eevee. Smiling at the scene, Everest was happy to find a name that suited the Eevee, and she was guessing that he may not want to fight, at least, not right away.

Watching in fascination, her tallest Eevee ran over to a pile of rocks on the side of the road and picked one up. Yipping happily he brought the rock over to Everest proudly, who took the rock. Ever since she explained they were looking for strange items, rocks in particular, her Eevee seemed to be entranced by many rocks and brought them to his trainer. She didn't have the heart to tell the excited pokémon that he was just picking up random rocks, none actually holding any power. So now, she had a pocket full of random, grey rocks.

\- - ESIES- -

By sunset, they had made a huge dent in Route 4. Awhile back, she had sent Icee and Shawn back into their pokéballs, now she could spend some time with the male Eevee. Spencer was asleep on her shoulder, curled up around her neck, snoozing lightly. In the distance, there was a road passing over the path, but she wasn't quite sure what it was, and who used it.

Slowly, the surroundings were changing from suburbs of Castelia to a mining district. Sand and a desert landscape was bleeding through, a few miners were walking around but didn't pay her any mind.

"So, Eevee, we haven't had much of a chance to talk about what's going on next." The Eevee walked beside her protectively, only a step away. He looked back at her curiously, but continued to walk slowly beside her. "See, I actually live in a different region, it's called Kalos. A friend of mine sent me here to explore the desert resort." She began, before pointing to the north-west. "Have you been there?" After being around an Eevee for more than a month, she was beginning to get a feel for the language of Eevee. Eevee barked, and she got the feeling that was a no.

Watching the sun set over the cliffs to the west, Everest decided that it was about time to get to sleep. After all, even she knew that deserts could have huge drops in temperature overnight. The sand was all pretty flat, so taking shelter beside a small cliff, Everest set Spencer on a bedroll.

"Can you help me? Use sand attack to clear a section for the tent please." Right as the words left her mouth, Eevee jumped forward and a cloud of sand was pushed out of the way. As she set up her tent, she watched Eevee work from the corner of her eye. Finally, a divot was place in the sand, creating a perfect place for the tent to not be blown away. Without firm earth, she had to place her tent in a pit, without the ability to place stakes.

"Come on out guys!" Grinning, red light lit up the fading hills as her friends appeared. "We've gotten more than halfway there. I think we'll be there tomorrow." Pulling out supplies, Everest served up the pokémon food she brought. Each now had their own bowl, before she pulled out a massive bowl, filling it up with water from her pack. While her friends ate, she pulled out the packaged food that is made easy for traveling trainers.

By the time dinner was finished, the sun had set, and Icee had fallen asleep on Everest's lap. They moved silently, only exception was Spencer's low grumbles as she directed the newest members of the group on how to clean up dinner. In record time, each Pokémon had brought their bowls to Everest, who had woken Icee up so the Eevee could mist the plates. Spencer had taken a flying type form, along with one of the water containers. Shawn and the other Eevee took the chance to practice battling for a bit, with Everest's input.

When Spencer came back, she not only was holding a full water container, she also had a sparkling necklace in her claws. It was a teardrop shape, a sparkling sapphire.

"What is that?" Holding up her most expensive piece of equipment, the Pdex spun for a few seconds while the necklace was dropped into her hand.

"Mystic Water, an item to be held by a Pokémon. This ancient gem boosts water type moves." The monotone voice reported and she spun the necklace in the light.

"That's so cool Spence! Thank you for finding this." Finding one of the seemingly bottomless pockets, she lipped it in carefully. None of her pokemon even knew a water-type move. But maybe, someone would. Spencer still had the sharp beak, an Icee had the silk scarf. Perhaps she could locate more items for her newest friends. Anything to help them in their quest.


	13. Desert Resort pt 1

The next morning however, they woke up long after the sun rose. Closer to noon than six, the team began walking once more. They were all magnificent in the sunlight, and little did any of them know, in a few short months, their look would be completely different, and they could take the world by storm.

Right now though? They were trekking through a path that was quickly turning to all sand. The sandstorm was taking them. Sand was blowing all around, whipping hair and fur all around, getting sand everywhere.

"Wish I had some goggles or something." Everest muttered, holding a hand up to her face, trying and failing to keep all the sand from going in her mouth and eyes.

Somewhere to her left, she was aware of Spencer shooting flames in every other direction, practicing her flamethrower. She was getting better with aim and precision, judging by the fact that a seared Sitris berry was knocked to the ground, but the branch wasn't lit on fire.

"Nice one!" Yelling over the roar of the sandstorm, Shawn ran forward to retrieve the berry. Stopping her movement, she gave her pokémon a chance to rest, when she could spot a form of something through the sand. "What is that?" Wandering further, she stepped forward carefully, watching for pokemon under the sand. Finally, she was able to see a sign through the dust.

 _Desert Resort: a popular location for trainers. Known well for ground types as well as a training location, be careful when trekking to keep track of rations. Pokémon Rangers patrol once a week, however, much of the desert is unmapped. Further in, more powerful pokémon live. Only enter if you have strong pokémon with you._

Everest frowned at the sign, if the league wanted to discourage idiot trainers from entering the desert, they weren't doing a good job of it. By telling trainers that powerhouses lived within the desert, weaker or over-confident trainers would enter, without heading the warning. Regardless, she pulled her hair into a bun.

"Alright guys, let's do this." Watching her team for a moment, she then entered between the rocky cliffs, into the unknown.

\- - ESIES - -

Two days later, Everest and her team had faced more rock and ground types than she had ever seen before. All were completely new to her, which helped Spencer find new species to turn into. It also gave her a chance to figure out just how her pokémon fought. Shawn was more of a gentle soul. He was ready to battle if Everest was threatened, but otherwise, he was more happy to sit back and watch the battles.

Icee seemed to enjoy using mist to part the sandstorm around them, as well as to wash sand from everything they owned. Even if mist wasn't a damaging move, she used it as if it was. The wild pokemon around here weren't very comfortable around ice type moves.

Spencer seemed to be growing stronger by the day, while welding Flamethrower and Foul Play, she seemed to be an unstoppable force of pure strength. Eager to protect her trainer, she attacked any wild pokémon that even growled at them, which proved to be disastrous for wild pokemon.

Last, but certainly not least, her unnamed Eevee was eager to please and fight. He ran straight into danger, following Spencer's lead. That wasn't quite a good idea for the normal type since he didn't have the strength or speed Spencer had, nor did he actually try and avoid most hits. He liked to prove how long he could last, which could prove fatal, so the trainer was working on it with him in between pointless escapades the Eevee took running head on into the storm.

Lost in thought, she yelled out in surprise when the ground beneath her moved. Falling back she fell against the sandy ground as sand poured off a huge creature. It was bigger than anything she had seen yet in the resort. It fought its way to the surface, black and tan was the body color, but what really caught her attention: bright red eyes. Swallowing back her fear as it stepped forward and snapped its huge jaws at her, she managed to stand up, calling Icee to her side.

"Icee, use mist to get into those holes." The creature had these huge gaping holes on the side of it, but she hadn't figured out the purpose. It looked a little like the Hippopotas she had run into all over the resort, so this must belong to its line. Not finding enough in her right now to care, she didn't pull out her sometimes-helpful-electronic which seemed to have a vendetta against her. The Eevee followed instructions, only Icee was out at the moment, and a dazzling mist easily swept through the sand clouds centering in on the wild pokemon.

Stopped dead in its tracks, or at least Everest thought so, until the large mouth opened wide, taller than herself, and slammed around the move. Faltering back, she stood still, watching the pokémon lazily chew a few times.

"Did you just eat my move?" She growled, stamping her foot. It may be childish, but it completely ruined her plan.

"Yeah, they tend to do that. Ezra, get in close to distract it, Drac, please use acrobatics." Coming from seemingly nowhere, she tried to see past the whirl of sand, but the voice she couldn't place.

Suddenly, someone emerged from the gloom, a boy, taller than herself. He would have looked kinda insane, if not for the practicality of the goggles over his eyes. Dark black hair was clipped somewhat short, a black jacket with teal accents was tied around his waist, he probably used it in the desert nights. He had what used to be a white t-shirt, but now was tan from sand blowing every which way and covering the shirt. He had brown pants and black boots, an outfit much more practical for the desert she surmised than her own. His eyes seemed to glint in excitement as the wild pokémon roared, and turned to him, finding the boy as a much better opponent.

Without warning, a teal creature burst from the ground, covering the creature in sand, even though it was the same height as Icee. Before the angry wild pokémon could react, the teal pokemon, or 'Ezra' she guessed, disappeared into the sand once more. Pulling out her PDex, she saw the chance to research.

Pointing it to the massive opponent, it spun for a second, seemingly taunting her. Then, as she waited, a purple blur slammed down on the huge pokémon only to fly right back up into the sky, out of reach.

"Gligar. The Fly Scorpion Pokémon. It flies straight at its target's face from a cliff, then clamps down on the startled victim to inject poison." It spoke, showing the info of the flying blur as it spun circles around the real target of her PDex.

"Wow, you hate me that much?" Mumbling to herself, she pointed it once more at the giant creature. Meanwhile, the teal pokémon had appeared once more, covering the red eyes with sand. It roared in fury, stoping its feet, but the sand ate up the shockwaves. The teal pokémon looked like a ground type, judging by the ability it had to burrow through the ground. Its huge mouth snapped shut as it clacked angrily at its opponent. Meanwhile, the kid was laughing maniacally.

"Yes! Suck it!" He yelled happily as the pokémon took another hit from Drac (the Gligar). "We'll beat you this time!" He announced happily, pumping his fist into the air. So far, the huge tank-like creature had been unable to fight off the boy's attacks, and instead, with a mighty roar, it suddenly was consumed by a massive wave of sand. Suddenly, all was quiet, as quiet as it could be in a sand storm that it. "Damn." He sighed, falling on his butt, the teal pokémon obediently came to sit beside the trainer, who looked defeated.

"Thank you for fighting it off. I wasn't expecting that-" Broke off by a sudden electronic whir, she rolled her eyes at the awful timing.

"Hippowdon, the Heavyweight Pokémon. It blasts internally stored sand from ports on its body to create a towering twister for attack." The PDex broke in with a seemingly cheerful voice. With a sigh, she moved to stand in front of the boy.

"Name's Damien." He seemed much more calm now, he was petting his pokémon as the other landed beside him. "Gotta be careful around this area, that Hippowdon is really territorial. We've been searching for it since two weeks back when it nearly bit my leg off." Damien grinned cheerfully, while the girl's eyes bugged out.

"You've been in here for two weeks?" It was crazy for her to imagine being in this dust bowl for so long. Sure, she had the supplies to last more than that… but to be in this mess, constantly spitting out sand, the roar of the winds. No thank you. But, he seemed to be right at home.

"Sure. Here, these make everything much better." He tossed her a pair of goggles, light grey, which she gladly accepted. "I've grown up around here, makes it easier when you're conditioned to it." Shrugging, Damien walked forward before kneeling to sit next to Icee.

"Hey there." Icee happily leaned into his touch, yipping happily. Everest donned the eye protection, pushing sand out of the lenses before she could _finally_ look straight into the wind.

Now able to look around without squinting, she could make out the hazy image of hills out to the eat. Out near the edges of the hills, she could make out a couple green blurs, but not quite sure what they were.

"Wow, these are awesome. Thanks, my name's Everest by the way." The guy shrugged, still smiling at Icee, who he was petting. Icee seemed to love the attention, nuzzling the warm hand that was brushing all the sand out of her coat.

"No problem, but can I ask, why'd you come here anyways? You obviously aren't prepared for the desert." Everest looked down, partly in embarrassment, because the kid was certainly right about that.

"It's part of a favor for a friend. See, I live in the Kalos region," Everest began, and Damien seemed incredibly interested by her statement. "He wanted me to explore the desert resort for a few items he's been looking for." Her voice could barely be heard over the roar of the sandstorm, but the black haired kid seemed to be hanging on every word. "I wasn't aware that it would be like this until I got to the end of Route 4." Shrugging, Everest decided to let Eevee out, he had been resting since early this morning when he got attacked by a gang of Darumaka.

"Wow, you have two Eevee? That's nuts," He breathed, but after seemed to be wiped from his shock. "Hey, you seem pretty cool. Let's get to my camp, I can help show you around, and maybe we''ll find what you're looking for." Everest was all for more help, after all, she hadn't seen anything yet that looked like a Mega Stone. She didn't have the heart to tell him she actually had three Eevee, that would come later.

"Thank you for the help." Damien pointed to the left at her words, smiling and nodding while his pokémon followed him. Drac was perched happily on his shoulder, turning every which way as a look out. Ezra (the one she had yet to identify) was walking beside them, every once in a while it clacked its jaws towards her own pokemon, which seemed to be its way of communicating. "How do you know your way around here so easily?" The boy would change direction slightly at his own signal, but she couldn't determine anything in the sand or surrounding areas that served as markers.

"Over all, I've probably spent over a year in this desert in my life time. It becomes familiar once you now where to look." If she hadn't been standing behind him, Damien probably would have laughed at her expression. She was in shock.

For now, they walked in silence as the wind picked up. They didn't want to try and talk with a mouthful of sand. She was thankful for the goggles, more than thankful actually. he hadn't yet been this deep into the storm but, she could tell they were certainly necessary. She yelped in surprise as a cold, wet sensation touched her leg.

"Oh, it's just you." Sighing in relief, she looked down to her Eevee. He proudly held a rock in his mouth, this one looked akin to the others he retrieved, grey, about the size of her fist. "Thank you, I like this one a lot." Taking it gingerly from the Eevee, he looked over the rock with fondness. It was just the fact he was trying so hard that made her smile.

"Did it just give you a rock?" Damien asked, trying to see whatever value he expected to find in the rock. Shaking her head, she laughed slightly as she watched the pokemon prance of, digging another hole in the sand in search of another rock.

"Yeah, he has a fondness for them." He didn't ask any more questions, just continued to lead them on their way.

 **AN: Thank you to all my readers! I never dreamed that I would get so many views! I had to split this one up into two parts, so the next bit will still be in the Desert Resort.**

 **So, this is my next human character I'm throwing into the mix. I think he's going to be great.**


	14. Desert Resort pt 2

By the time night was falling, Everest was contemplating just telling Damien they could camp out in her tent for the night, when she could see something through the haze. It wasn't natural, stone cropping out from the desert.

"Welcome, to the Relic Castle." Damien gestured proudly to the long-forgotten monument. The old white stone was intricately carved as they got closer. Columns rose from the marble podium on the entrance. Sand covered everything, but you could easily find the shape below the sand. The entryway was pitch black as they approached, but it didn't look scary as one would guess.

"What is this place?" Footsteps echoed over the marble, and the storm had gone down to almost nothing at this point, as if the Castle had some influence over nature's power. Damien beckoned for Everest to follow to the mouth of the castle.

"This was built over 2,500 years ago, when civilization in Unova was at its peak. Now, it lays barren, forgotten by the majority of people." Marble statues guarded the front entry way, but she couldn't recognize the pokemon. As they got closer, Damien pulled out some matches, and Everest smiled at the opportunity.

"Here, I have a pokemon with a fire type move, let me." Damien nodded, seemingly excited at the promise and put away his matches. Pulling the red and white ball from her belt, she warmly ran her fingertips over the metal. "Come on out, Spencer!" On command, as the ball sailed through the air, it popped open, releasing a red light, which easily turned into her tall friend. Spencer growled in greeting, before stepping forward to sniff Damien.

"No way! You have a Zoroark? That's crazy." He smiled in greeting before bowing his head out of respect towards Spencer, who looked very pleased at his praise.

"Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokémon, bonds between these pokemon are very strong, and has an ability to fool a large group simultaneously." A new voice cheekily spoke, and Everest eyed his PDex with slight envy. It worked on command.

"See those torches on the wall? Could you light them up?" Spencer growled in agreement, and stepped over the threshold of the abandoned palace. "You might want to stand back." She whispered the last bit to Damien, who followed her example and took two steps back. The next moment, the cave was bathed in a fiery light as Spencer used a slightly out of control Flame-thrower on the walls.

Once the smoke cleared, Everest grinned, and Spencer did her best to grin back. The torches were lit as far down as 50 yards, only a few feet of the walls got singed too. Spencer barked happily, and Everest had the feeling that it meant something about how amazing she was getting with the move.

"Nice Flamethrower." Damien smiled, the gestured to where a few bags were sitting, ones that they had not seen before the cavern was lit up. "These are mine, I left them here while I explored the desert some more. This is usually where I set up camp, this way I don't have to worry about my tent getting destroyed in a storm." The Gligar on his shoulder let out a few shrieks suddenly, nipping at Damien's bandana which held his hair out of his face. "Right, sorry. These are my pokémon, Drac. And Ezra was my first pokémon." The Gligar shrieked again, now out of the storm, his shriek was more powerful echoing off the walls. Ezra was the teal pokémon, and sat beside Damien happily. Deciding now she had enough time, she held her PDex up to Ezra, watching the screen for any information.

"Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokemon. Its nest is a sloped, bowl like pit in the desert. Once something has fallen in, there is no escape." Looking closer, she tried to see if there were two forms for different genders, but there was none for the orange pokémon.

"Wait, is he usually green?" Everest asked, then moving to sit on her haunches so she could examine the ground type. Ezra clacked, opening his wide mouth before slamming it shut a few times.

"Yeah, I didn't realize that he isn't the usual color until later, after I caught him. But, I wouldn't change him for the world." Damien smiled proudly, before sitting down on the floor. "So, what about your pokémon?" Everest decided to join him before letting out the last of her friends.

"Well, this is Icee. I got her as an egg." Icee went into a play crouch, her tail swishing as she challenged Ezra. "And Spencer." By then, Spencer had reorganized herself so she was behind her trainer, letting Everest rest her back against her fluff. Drac crawled forward with his claws, sniffing Everest's bag, the pocket for rocks Eevee grabbed for her.

As if sensing that the rocks were being tampered with, he shot from the doorway where he had been keeping watch, just to barrel into Drac with a sharp bark. That began a huge fight for dominance, as the Gligar took to the air, clinging to the wall, just out of Eevee's reach.

"That one, doesn't want to be named yet. He probably will take one as soon as he evolves." She didn't miss the amusement on Damien's face as a couple Swift stars were suddenly thrown at Drac, who shrieked in response. He wasn't all that happy apparently. "And, this one, is Shawn." Her hands easily found the one full ball, and released the soft tuff of fur.

"Three Eevee? You must really be something to have three." He spoke in awe, extending a hand to Shawn. The Eevee simply turned away, burying his face into Everest's side. "Poacher?" Everest nodded sadly, avoiding the old scars.

After that, they exchanged stories of some of their fiercest battles, (Everest didn't mention the Rocket) then, they talked about some of the rarest pokémon they've seen so far. As far as Everest could tell, Damien didn't really stray from Route 4, Castelia, or the desert. That didn't mean he was a bad trainer or didn't have many experiences, cause he certainly did.

"You've seen a Gengar?" Everest breathed, shivers racing down her spine at the thought. Behind her, Spencer growled at the mention of the deadly ghost type, clearly not happy.

"Yes, it was the scariest thing I've ever seen. This trainer that was visiting Castelia let it out, to play or whatever. An hour later, it had wandered to Route 4. I was walking along, moon high in the sky, then I noticed something was wrong with my shadow. The moment I noticed, the Gengar jumped from the shadows." Both shivered at the recollection, and Everest really did not want to ever meet a Gengar in her life.

Sitting in silence, they watched the pokémon around them. Icee was sending small puffs of mist to Ezra, who was biting the move, making the mist explode into hundreds of tiny particles. They looked to be having fun, even if Icee was much faster than the ground type. Across the room, Drac was doing some evasion practice with her Eevee, who was sending Swift to the flying type. Spencer and Shawn were fast asleep, creating a very comfortable cushion and blanket for Everest.

"They work pretty well together." Everest noted, seeing that her male Eevee was becoming faster with his Swift attack. She could bet that the Trapinch was also working on his speed, trying to keep up with Icee. "Have you ever thought about leaving Unova?" Her question startled the trainer, his wide eyes and faster breathing. He took a deep breath and shrugged.

"I have." He was flipping his PDex in his hand, contemplating what he was about to say next. "But, I really haven't done much traveling outside of the desert. I doubt that I would be very good at it, besides, I don't have much money." Beside her, Spencer grumbled lowly, her tail waving in annoyance.

"Spencer says you don't need talent with traveling. You'll have your pokémon and us!" Everest hoped she got that right, as she spoke up. A warm tongue licked her arm, so she assumed she got it right.

"Wait, really? You want to travel with me?" Damien went bug eyed at the thought before grinning. "You're serious right? Oh man, that's awesome!" He grinned wildly before smiling towards his partners. "Ezra, Drac, wanna go on an official adventure?" They both seemed to brighten at the prospect, and quickly surrounded their trainer.

"Guess that settles it." Grinning, she smiled at the trio. She was happy to have someone new to travel with, she was anxious as well to have someone else to fight with against the Rockets.

The next morning, Everest awoke to full hearted laughter. Blinking awake, she unfolded her arms away from her face to find Damien crouching as he fought off his laughter.

"What's so funny?" Grumbling lowly, she glared at the boy who woke her up, who only pointed to her side. As she turned, she smiled softly, chuckling at the Eevee beside her. The male Eevee laid beside her, a huge pile of rocks surrounding him.

"I should really name him something like Rocky or Stone." Untangling herself from the slumbering pokemon, Everest ignored the continued laughter, and instead dug through her bag for the pokemon food. "Now, do your pokemon like Sitrus Berries, or Nanab?" This was going to be a good partnership, she could already tell.

Five days after their meeting, Damien was well aware that Everest was searching for stones, specific ones, not the ones that her Eevee kept bringing her. It was hard to explain the concept of Mega-Evolution, so she didn't try. Instead, she just told the boy that as soon as they got to Kalos, she would explain. In the meantime, Everest held the Dowsing Machine while Damien instructed Ezra where to dig and look for stones. So far, all they had found was a few angry Hippopotas and a golden nugget, which Damien said he was going to sell once they returned to Castelia.

"So, what kind of pokémon are you going to try and get once we get to Kalos?" Everest asked, carefully watching the Dowsing Machine for any type of movement. Everest had explained to Damien about how gym battles worked exactly, and then everything she knew about the final Competition at the beginning of spring.

"Not sure. I know that my team is really weak to ice and water, but I also don't want to try and search the world for one certain pokémon. You know? I like just going with the flow, and whatever pokémon I run into, I might catch." Damien shrugged before watching Ezra come to the surface. "Anything bud?" Ezra clacked his mouth a few times, which must have meant a negative, because Damien told the pokémon to go to the east this time.

"I agree. But, I think it would be super cool too if you became a ground type master." Damien turned to her curiously as they continued to wade through the sand. Thankfully, it wasn't too strong right now, and they didn't even wear the goggles. "Because, well, I know Gliscor is still a ground type, is Ezra's final evolution ground too?" Damien nodded, before grimacing.

"A master though? He becomes a dual Dragon-Ground type." Everest nearly gasped at that. If that was true, no doubt his path would be very dangerous. Dragons are difficult to train in the first place, but it has been said Kingdra can be very temperamental, and hard to control because they gain the dragon typing later on from its evolution, no doubt the Trapinch line was the same way.

"Something to think about." Everest shrugged, and the Eevee atop her head squeaked quietly. "What's up Shawn?" He sounded worried, she tried to locate the location of his stress.

"He might just be worried about your rock crazy Eevee, looks like he found something again." As Damien said this, she spotted the Eevee digging another hole to find something beneath the surface. She sighed and rolled her eyes, Shawn really had her worried there for a second. Although, as they continued to walk forward, she knew something was wrong. So far, she hadn't seen the Eevee dig this much to try and get at a rock.

"What's up boy?" She kneeled beside the hole, not sure what was wrong. Shawn squeaked again, even more worried than before. At first, she thought, maybe he was trying to learn Dig, but when no light came up like on Ezra, she frowned. Finally, the Eevee in the hole barked, and dipped his head down.

"Shit, don't-" Damien's worried shout was suddenly cut off by a bright light. Completely shocked, Everest fell back, covering her eyes with her arms as the light was burned into her retinas. Once the shock left, she watched the changing shape of her Eevee.

His ears were the first to change, they extended further into the air, then bending so they went further behind his head. The tuft of fur on his forehead blossomed out, extending into the air. The fur around his neck grew out further, and changed shape as well. Then, in a bright wave of power, his tail grew at least a foot, along with his legs.

"Flareon!" He barked powerfully, announcing his presence. Everest and Damien sat stone still, mouths hanging open as the Flareon trotted forward happily and dropped the Fire Stone in her lap. Wordlessly, Damien pulled out his PDex.

"Flareon, the Flame Pokémon. It has a flame bag inside its body. After inhaling deeply, it blows out flames of nearly 3,000 degrees." As if the Flareon didn't believe it himself, he released a huge arc of embers into the air.

"Good job. You found a really good one, didn't you?" Cooing softly, she scratched behind his ears. He barked happily at the praise, before he turned to bark at Gligar happily. "Is this okay? Are you okay with being a Flareon?" Obviously, there wasn't any going back, but she would hate to know if her Eevee wanted to be anything but a Flareon and now would never be able to be anything else. His tail was wagging happily at her question, and he licked her cheek. Now being a whole foot taller, he didn't have to try when she sat down. She took that as a yes. Shawn jumped to the ground, carefully approaching the Flareon. She expected him to race forward and met Shawn excitedly, scaring the poor normal-type, but instead, he waited patiently for Shawn to approach. This was a new Flareon. Everest and Damien watched in total silence as this occurred, knowing this was a very important aspect of her team dynamic now.

In total silence, Shawn stepped forward hesitantly, before his nose met Flareon's. The fire-type's coat burst into flames at that point, and he was running and jumping around, happy he was accepted. Gligar soon joined in, taunting the fire type who was now able to do more damage from far away.

"Do you like the name Burn?" His head snapped to meet her gaze, his tongue hanging from his mouth at the question, tail wagging even faster, finding more energy within himself. "Okay, Burn it is." She laughed happily, the facts sinking in, she now had two fully evolved Pokémon.


	15. Sycamore's Lab

"Thank you to all of our passengers this lovely morning. We have arrived in Lumiose City in the Kalos region. We are indeed on time, so those who have rides waiting, they should be there! Have a great time in the City of Lights!" The pilot announced over the intercom. Everest grinned at her newest companion, who looked to be carefree. As they were boarding the plane, he seemed nervous, so she figured he didn't like flying. But now, on the ground in Kalos? He looked like he was having the time of his life. Drac sat on his lap, considering Ezra was too heavy to fly with on a plane.

"Alright, the professor said he's waiting for us." Everest grinned as she pulled the kid to his feet. He was quick to follow, along with Icee who hopped along behind them. Rushing through the airport terminal, she tried to spot the crazy black hair of the professor. But, once she saw a Gabite standing in the crowd, she beelined towards the dragon pokémon.

"You're sure he'll like me?" Damien wondered, and his Gligar was chattering loudly in his ear, but it seemed neither trainer was quite sure of what he was saying.

"Course. He's a nice guy." Her reassurances were cut off by a loud roar from Gabite as they approached. It waved its arms wildly in the air, growling and scaring off a bunch of tourists. "Hey Gabite! You evolved?" He continued his greeting in earnest until the Professor recalled the dragon-ground type.

"Everest! How nice to see you again! You can tell me how it went once we get- hello? Who's this?" Professor Sycamore spotted Damien easily, as he still wore the same clothes Everest met him in, the only difference, there wasn't a huge excess of sand all over him, just a tad.

"This is Damien. I met him at the Resort, and we decided that we're going to travel together." Everest introduced, and the professor gladly shook his hand with a familiar grin.

"Ah, another young trainer! I love it when I see children making life choices like this! Come along! So much to talk about, not enough time either!" He shouted excitedly, walking off without even looking if the two trainers were following.

The two ran after him, right onto the busy streets of Lumiose. Damien seemed to be in awe as they continued to walk, his eyes taking in everything he could possibly see, spinning around a few times.

"Look at all of this Drac, can you believe it?" His Gligar screeched excitedly, it was a wonder how Damien hadn't yet gone deaf around his flying type. They continued to speed walk, barely stopping to even make sure any taxis weren't speeding past. Finally, she saw the familiar glass dome atop the greenhouse where his pokémon lived.

"This is it!" The tall man brandished loudly, waving his hands about as they walked up to the tall doors. Everest decided she would wait till later when she would do the big reveal of her newest friends. For now, she walked up the stairs carefully, watching for any sign of Rockets now that she was back in her home region.

Unova seemed like a relaxing vacation, she got to forget about Team Rocket for a little while. She could ignore that she and her pokémon had almost died. Now, she came back twice as strong, along with a new ally with his own friends. Broken from her trance, she hugged Sophie and Collette back, before they saw Damien.

"This is Damien, we're deciding to travel together now." Everest introduced, and each of the scientists greeted him before they moved them to the greenhouse.

"Okay, you can't hold anything back, what did you find when you were there?" As they walked, Everest made eye contact with the boy first.

"Well, I need to tell you guys what I did before I even got to the Resort." Everest began, and Damien smiled a little, he already knew this story. "See, I landed in Castelia, and I checked into the center. and there was this boy hanging around. He came up and asked me if I found Icee in the sewers." The professor frowned, but kept quiet, letting Everest continue. "I told him no, but that got me thinking, what on earth are Eevee's doing in the sewers? So, I decided I would explore them. Guess what I found there?"

"Wait, you actually found an Eevee there?" Sophie gasped, getting out her notepad. Sure, they weren't professors of Unova, but as far as anyone knew, there weren't any wild Eevees in Unova.

"Yup, and… Damien found his Gligar there." She pointed to the excited Gligar, who screeched in response. Now that she knew what she was looking for, she could see small tears in his wings, ones that had to have taken a long time to heal. She trusted the professors, but she couldn't trust that they wouldn't spread the news accidentally of a haven of rare pokémon.

After about three days with Damien, he realized he recognized her pokemon, he had seen them in the park where he got his Gligar. He had found the sewers exit into the small grove of trees. It was a secret they would take to their grave.

"Really? Gligar aren't found in Unova!" Collette exclaimed excitedly, her pitch rivaling the bat on Damien's shoulder. "Was it just living in the caverns? Was it dirty? How about diet?" Drac screeched back, seemingly not liking be called an it.

"Drac was fine when I found him. Perfect health." Damien smiled, but once he saw where they were walking, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Wow."

The greenhouse is spectacular, and she supposed that since Damien grew up in a desert, a huge space of trees and greens would be pretty cool. It was just as lively as she left it, a bunch of young pokéemon ran along at her feet, chirping, barking, and overall being happy. A few of them stopped to greet the trainers, and Professor Sycamore gestured to a table.

"Here, let's hear the whole story. You can let your pokémon out." Taking a seat on the metal chairs, Everest let out Icee and Spencer, both took a seat next to Everest. Icee squeaked a greeting to the scientists, and Spencer just nodded. Damien then let out Ezra, who clacked in interest at his surroundings. She was counting down the seconds it would take the scientists to realize they had an oddly colored specimen in their lab. "So, Everest and Damien, what did you do in the resort?"

"I didn't find anything like you wanted us to find, but I was lucky enough to have my own guide. Damien grew up around the desert, he knows it by heart." Sycamore watched interested, eyeing Damien in a new light and respect.

"Everest told me you were looking for powerful stones. While we did find some interesting items, we didn't find anything as Everest described as marbles. We found some gold and a star piece. See, I know that place inside out, and I've never seen those." Damien shrugged, watching his Gligar take off into the trees.

"But, there is one thing I wanted to show you." Everest dug in her pocket, finding the fabric wrapped rock. Now, she was very careful with it, she wasn't going to accidentally evolve any pokémon anymore. All three watched in interest as she uncovered it. The yellow/orange glinted in the light, pouring a powerful aura into the room.

"A Fire stone? You found one in the desert?" Sophie asked, fascinated before carefully picking it up. then, her eyes narrowed and looked at Icee. "How'd you get it without her evolving?" Pointing to the Eevee. Damien and Everest laughed uneasily at the question before she fished for Burn's ball.

"Come on out!" The bold Flareon barked happily on being let out, before jumping onto the table, taking the stone in his mouth before barking again, and giving the rock back to Everest.

"So, the Eevee you found in the sewers? You let that one evolve?" Collette asked fascinated. Everest caught the slight disapproval from the woman, and she sunk back in her chair.

"It wasn't my idea. Burn likes to collect rocks, and before we even found it with the Dowsing Machine, he dug it up, then presto chango, Flareon. He seems happy about it anyways." Everest pointed to the happy Flareon.

"Congratulations Everest, this is wonderful news. This also supports a theory of one about the Mega Stones. I noticed you have four pokéballs on your waist now." Sycamore smiled, she bet that he already knew, after all, she uses his system, so if he wanted, he could check in and see her current pokémon.

"Come on out Shawn." She smiled as the small Eevee appeared, and quickly ran to Damien. Everest raised an eyebrow at Damien, who shrugged and pet the shy pokémon. The scientists no doubt spotted the scars, and didn't say anything, instead, they turned to Damien.

"So, can we hear about the Desert Resort?" As Damien recounted many of his adventures through the desert (many of which included him ending up either stuck in a sandstorm without any equipment, or having to order Drac to go fill up his canteen while he tried to find his way out of the desert without aid.) Everest noticed a small blue pokémon creeping up behind Damien. Ezra and Drac had already wandered off, so neither could dissuade the small Nidoran female from approaching. From what Everest could tell, she seemed interested in his accounts of the desert.

By the time Damien had finished his story of his continuous battle with the huge Hippowdon, the Nidoran was right next to them. Making a quick movement, Everest picked her up, avoiding the small poison spikes on her back and set her on the table across from Damien.

"Oh, this is the Nidoran a friend from Kanto gave me." Sycamore warmly smiled at the blue pokémon, who chirped quietly, but watched Damien with adoring eyes. "Seems she likes you. Nidoran, do you want to go with this trainer?" The blue pokémon tilted her head, before chirping once more while nodding her head. Damien's grin grew even further as the professor handed him a great ball, the Nidoran's greatball.

"Thank you Professor." Damien smiled, greeting his newest edition, petting her while learning where the poison barbs were.

\- - DEDN - -

Damien was now half way through building his strongest team he would ever have. Sure, they still had many trials to go through, many disasters and problems to make it through, but he was half way. Half way to greatness.


	16. Route 4 pt 2

"So, this is what I was thinking." Everest and Damien were sitting over a huge map of Kalos. Everest was drawing in notes where all the gyms were along with what type each were. "You could challenge the Lumiose gym tomorrow, then, while you plan out your strategy and battle, I'll skate to Santalune City. I'll get your skates, then race back. Hopefully, if I'm fast enough, I could make it back in time for your battle." Everest smiled at her companion. Speed was the key here. If they both had rollerblades, they could certainly make it around the region before time was up. She also didn't really want to still be battling near the end during the mad rush for badges.

"What are you waiting for? You're wasting time." Damien laughed and shoved her gently. "We already talked over this twice. I'll be fine, it's an electric-type gym." Everest gave a small wave before letting Shawn out.

"Alright buddy, speed is the game, plus you definitely need some speed training." Everest grinned at the Eevee before taking off, the normal type right on her heels.

As they ran, once her pokémon got tired, she returned it and exchanged it for another, making sure everyone got some training today. But, as she skated down Route 4, she noticed quite a few people skating around in the same skates she wore. In any other situation, she would have stopped and talked to them. But, now? She was worried about getting back in time to see Damien's fight. Clemont was no push over, even if he did have electric types while Damien had ground.

\- - ESIBS - -

After a while, Everest decided to give Icee a break, Everest ventured into the gardens on the sides of the route, curious as to what lies beyond the path. With a small smile, she showed Icee the Dowsing Machine as she pulled it from her pack, panting as harshly as her normal type was.

"So, do you think we could find anything?" Everest asked, looking around the hedges, admiring the nicely done work on the sides, flowers blooming, every hedge looked like it was cut from marble. She could see a couple pokémon peeking from behind the hedges, but didn't give them any mind. She wouldn't bother them so long as they didn't bother her. Now entering the actual grass, she was forced to click her heels, and the wheels disappeared once more.

Icee squeaked, yipping happily as she spotted a Flabébé through the leaves. It flew away quickly, scared off by Everest's loud noises. Laughing gently to her friend, she motioned for Icee to keep moving.

"Stay quiet next time, and maybe you will make a new friend." Giving her best advice, she continued walking, already lost in the hedge maze. She wasn't too worried, alright, maybe she should be to make sure she made it back in time, but she also didn't need to be burnt out. The Dowsing Machine began to glow a light blue, something both Everest and Icee were now familiar with.

It took them a few tries, having to back track and once even hopped over one hedge to get to where they needed to be, but finally, the red crossed, and Icee began digging. Too late, Everest cringed, imagining yet another evolution stone underneath the dirt. She really ought to think this through. But, as the item was uncovered, the smooth purple stone didn't react to Icee. She picked it up curiously, not familiar with it.

"Do you know what it is?" The Eevee just yipped at her excitedly, happy with her find. "Right, better ask the Dex." She dug it out, flipping open the familiar machine. "Do you know what this is?" The machine swirled a couple times, before it finally began speaking.

"Eevee, the evolution pokémon. Its genetic-" Everest slammed it shut before throwing it in her bag while contemplating the AI. Deciding on her next move, she recalled Icee, she let Burn out, anxious to see how he fared after his evolution. He barked happily, and ran after Everest, hot on her heels.

\- - ESIBS - -

When she made it back to the familiar shop, she smiled when she saw a line at the counter. Walking into the store, she quietly examined the store, waiting for a break in their business to approach them. As she was looking through their sleeping bags, she felt a hand touch her back.

"Everest! You're back!" Rinka smiled excitedly, cheering and jumping up and down. Looking up, she saw her father approach, a huge grin on his face.

"Ah! My favorite trainer! Thank you so much for spreading the word! We've sold so many pairs, we've become well known throughout Lumiose!" He excitedly claimed. "Have you gotten better with the skates?"

"Yes! We've gotten much faster, thanks to you." Nodding towards the Flareon sitting at her heels. Rinka laughed and began to pet Burn, while Everest looked up at the older man.

"I was wondering if by chance, you could make a pair for a friend of mine, we're traveling together now, and it's hard to keep up with a skater without skates." She held out the pair of boots she picked out for Damien, he didn't have to know she stuffed his old boots back into his bag.

"Of course! No problem! A friend of yours is a friend of mine." He grinned before happily taking the skates. "Although, it is getting late, I will finish them, and you will be able to leave at sunrise."

\- - ESIBS - -

The next morning, she was free to take off once more down the Route, skating at full speed, worriedly wondering if she could make it to see Damien battle.


	17. Lumiose City Route 16

She didn't make it back in time. Damien was waiting for her at the entrance to the city from Route 4, but the only reason she didn't feel too bad, was because he held up a shiny gym badge, the exact same shape she got from Clemont.

"How'd it go?" Everest smiled at the older boy. Damien smirked, and Drac suddenly peaked from around the trainer's head. He shrieked again, smiling widely at Everest before taunting Burn at Everest's feet. "Hello Drac." Greeting the odd pokémon, it waved one wing before climbing higher onto Damien to avoid an ember.

"It was really good! Reina watched to pick up on our style. We first battled this Magneton, which Drac faced, barely made it, but we did. However, his Emolga took down Drac." The pokémon mentioned whined, but didn't deny it. "Then, Ezra used Rock Slide on it." He smiled proudly, and Everest grinned, she was happy for the kid (She frowned at the thought, realizing he was older than she was… oh well).

"Reina?" She racked her brain for a Reina at the lab, but she didn't think there were any other assistants, and she didn't expect Damien to make a new friend in one day.

"OH! Reina, that's the name my Nidoran picked." He puffed his chest up a bit in pride, while Everest grinned brightly for him. The Nidoran proved to be picky when it came to a name, and as when Everest left, she had shot down at least a hundred names.

"Nice one. We had trouble with his Heliolisk. But, we do have these." Showing off the shiny boots, Damien grinned and took them before he looked at the footwear closer.

"I thought you said he builds it into your shoes." Not answering him, she sat down on a bench, motioning for Damien to sit beside her. "I'm going to get rich one day, and then I'm going to buy you a bunch of stuff," He grumbled, taking off his shoes before putting on the boots. "They aren't as heavy as I expected." Realistically, she was aware they wouldn't use the rollerblades to often, or at least as often as she liked. Damien's team wasn't built for speed, sure Gligar was fast, but his two other weren't. Maybe during specifically fast training sessions they would pull them out, but for now? Nope.

"One more thing. I found this on Route 4, but my PDex refused to identify it." She held the purple stone out for the trainer to look at. Damien took it, before turning it over a few times.

"I think it's a Dusk Stone. It's another evolutionary stone, dark and ghost types can use it to evolve." He shrugged, not as amazed with something that involved ghosts apparently. Once it was safely in her bag, she jumped up, a grin on her face.

"Let's see how bad you are with these." Everest grinned before clicking her own feet, smirking over her shoulder. "Race ya!" And she took off down the avenues of Lumiose City, the city of lights.

The city that would soon become a hotbed of crime, a city that would need a real leader, not a movie star looking for fame.

 **Route 16**

Three days later, Damien had finally managed to impress Everest with his skating skills, and they had enough speed training with the high evasion practice of avoiding pedestrians. Gligar seemed to have become a better flier. He was probably the best for flying in a sandstorm, but that wasn't where they were now. Spencer had gotten so fast, she couldn't even hope to beat her, she was now well past human capabilities.

She was so surprised when her PDex beeped, alerting her to a new move. Turns out, Spencer learned Agility from all of their speed training.

"Agility, the user relaxes and lightens its body to move faster. This sharply raises the Speed Stat. This move was learned five days ago." Damien looked at her PDex, questioning the last statement. By now, Everest shouldn't have been surprised.

"Did it just now tell you?" Everest nodded slowly, watching as the dark-type blurred from one location to the next. Her companion chuckled lightly as they watched their pokémon train together.

Reina and Icee got along really well, therefor, they trained together happily. Everest had asked her normal type to practice her protect abilities. She was becoming really good with it, now able to protect herself and another person or pokémon at the same time, making her the perfect target for Reina to practice Poison Sting and Double Kick on.

Burn and Ezra were paired up together. Ezra needed practice with Rock Slide, which he still hasn't quite mastered yet. While Everest was trying to get the Fire-type to learn Fire Fang. He didn't know that, but it was what he was practicing by trying to get flame out as closely to his mouth as possible.

Meanwhile, Drac was teaching Spencer how to evade in the sky. So far, it had ended with mouthfuls of dirt and grass from rough landings, but she was learning. An angry looking Fletchling was not happy with the Gligar taunting her.

Shawn however, was not interested in battling. Currently curled up on Everest's lap, he watched the mock battles with interest. She didn't mind that much, she had three other strong pokémon, but she was worried about if they got into a situation where Shawn wouldn't be able to protect himself against a strong wild pokemon.

"I think I'm going to try and become a ground type master." Damien announced suddenly, scrolling through his own device that seemed so much nicer.

"Oh yeah? Any idea what pokémon you're looking for then?" Everest smiled, glad to see he now has a goal. Although, she didn't have much of a goal besides destroying Team Rocket…

"Well, we're going to Anistar next, so, if we pass through Daniville Town, we could check out the Frost Cavern. My next pokémon is there." He grinned proudly before observing the pokemon. "Ezra! Watch your aim, you're off to the right a bit." The Trapinch clacked in reply, shooting a new volley of soft ball sized rocks towards Burn.

"Not gonna tell me which one?" Sure, she could just look up what ground types made the Cavern their home, but that would ruin the surprise.

"Nope. You'll have to just wait and see." Damien smiled to himself, still looking through his PDex, stopping to write down notes on a paper he had beside him. The female trainer had a similar note sheet beside her, a list of moves she wanted to teach her pokémon. For now, she was at a loss for what exactly to teach Icee and Shawn. Until they decided what to evolve into, there wouldn't be much sense in buying TMs or putting the huge amount of time it would take to learn the really powerful moves.

She had plenty of moves in mind for Burn and Spencer though. Moves that would really help her flexibility as well as increase her strength so she didn't have to just depend on evasion like she was now.

Route 16 was actually very long, filled with wild pokémon as well as trainers. The pokémon here were a lot more powerful than in the Desert Resort, so the trainers were a lot more careful walking through the golden leaves. The golden flowers also hid plenty of secrets, luckily, while they were powerful, most of them seemed to be pretty docile and skittish. Camped out in a clearing, they had been there for two days, training their hardest to get better in time before Anistar.

"Alright, this time, we're gonna get it. Burn, use Fire Fang on that branch." Burn was almost there, certainly getting better, but the fire always died out once he closed his jaws. He barked excitedly, just as much confidence as the last 42 times.

The Flareon's coat bristled, his tail moving hypnotically as he concentrated. Facing the poor tree they had targeted all afternoon, he bared his fangs, flames coming off in heat waves. Then, she shot off like a rocket. With his gained speed, he was able to make it up to the tall branch that had been marked with a few scorch marks. As he jumped, she kept her hopes high, one of these times, he was going to be great. Then, as his teeth made contact, the fire died, and he landed on the ground with all four feet.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We'll get it eventually." Trying to reassure herself more than the Fire-type, she smiled as Burn took up his position once more, tensing so he could take off at a moments notice.

"He's getting better. But, personally? You should teach him bite, then move onto Fire Fang. I think he's thinking of the flame and bite as different entities." Damien let Ezra out at his words, before turning to the teal pokémon. "Ezra, could you try and help Burn with learning Bite?" With excited clacking, Damien's Trapinch trotted over to Burn at his slow pace.

"Thank you. I hope it helps." Watching Burn be this motivated was sweet, but he still hadn't been able to get this down. Maybe with a teacher, he could make it over the last hill. Speaking of hills, she was curious as to how Damien was preparing for the evolution of his first pokemon. The Trapinch was getting sleepier, which could certainly be a sign of an on coming evolution, besides, Ezra knew pretty much all the useful moves he could learn at this evolution. It was bound to happen soon. And when it did, Everest and especially Damien had to be ready to deal with a temperamental dragon.

Dragon types are the most powerful, and that was why most pseudo-legendaries were dragon types, all knew of their might and majesty. Uncontrollable power at first, Vibrava (the next stage) lost most of their physical traits that a Trapinch had, making the trainer and pokémon relearn them in a whole new body. And if Ezra didn't evolve? That would be a sign of a weak bond between trainer and pokémon.

"I was looking at the Trapinch line, his next evolution is so much different." Damien nodded slowly, Everest knew the two were exceptionally close. She would be worried too if she was in his place. Sure, her pokémon could be difficult, but her Zorua had evolved in order to help Everest. Burn was just… Burn. He wanted to become stronger, it wasn't in his DNA to do a complete 180.

"Vibrava are temperamental. I've read a couple accounts of trainers going deaf from their wings." It was for that reason (along with rarity and difficulty training) that most people don't train Trapinch or any of the line. "I got ear plugs and such, but, they have poison, their Dex entries are terrifying. I'm not scared of Ezra, but I am afraid he won't see me as his equal any longer." Everest stayed quiet after that, laying on the grass while watching Burn try and copy Ezra.

Over across the clearing, she could spot Spencer, who was sitting and relaxing peacefully with Drac. She was lucky, she realized that Spencer was so calm and very unlike dark types when they met. She hadn't been prepared to even train a dark type at the time, and she doubted she was even now. All pokémon were dangerous in their own right, but dragon, dark and ghost types were known for it.

\- - ESIBS - -

By the time they made it to the river that led from 16 to 15, Burn had learned Bite, which would be great, except that they were by a river… filled with water pokemon. So, long story short? Everest would be doing the majority of the work while they were surrounded by typing that would be powerful against Damien's pokemon.

Drac was out, but he stayed well away from the flowing river, where Basculin would jump and try and splash him whenever he flew near. He didn't seem to be very happy to be this close to water, as he screeched often, and once even knocked Damien over before flying off once more.

So, it was a big surprise when Drac came barreling back at full speed, screeching and moving wildly. He landed softly on Damien and was trying to tell him something. Both trainers worried now, they tried to comfort the flying type, reassuring him but to no avail as he shrieked again, waving his wings wildly.

"Drac, buddy. Calm down." Damien tried to grab the pokémon, who easily evaded the hands and rose into the sky and continued to screech. Whatever was happening, it was scaring Everest. This was completely out of the ground type's personality. Sure, he liked to talk, but he looked scared. Then, a net was shot from the trees to the right, forcing Gligar into the river as he fell. "Drac!" Damien shouted worriedly, but before he could run to the side of the river, more nets shot at the trainers. Now expecting that, they evaded, and both let out their pokémon.

"Damn, it's probably drowned. Nice shooting there Tack." A girl growled, and Everest froze at the huge, R on the two chests. Swallowing back her fear, she heard intimidating growls from both Icee an Spencer who recognized the emblem.

"Icee, Shawn, get Drac, he fell into the river." Damien ordered, but, Everest couldn't think, couldn't speak as one more person emerged from the tree line. 'Tack' was a guy, fat and had a creepy mustache, the girl was tall and scary looking, at least seven piercings on her lips alone. Then, she and the first Rocket she ever met made eye contact with.

"Oh, hello. I see your twerp pokémon made it. Proves that they really are worth my time." He drawled, his wide grin showing off a fake golden tooth. Still unable to speak, all Everest could see was how badly Spencer had been injured after their last run in.

"Hey boss, you know this kid?" Tack asked, shouldering his net gun for a moment, looking utterly confused at the prospect. "and she still has her pokémon?" He received a slap to the head, and a familiar pokémon came out, one she now knew as Krokorok. It seemed to grin maliciously once it laid its eyes on Spencer, the tail waving wildly.

"Everest, snap out of it!" Damien yelled, and she did.

Looking around, she was glad to see Damien had kept Ezra in the ball. The Trapinch wouldn't do any good right now, he would only attract more attention to them. Reina was standing beside Burn and Spencer, growling at the Rockets who didn't seem all that impressed. Each rocket had three balls on their waists, no doubt powerful, and outnumbering Everest and Damien, even if they had Drac, Shawn, and Icee.

"See, my little buddy here wants some revenge, nearly blinded it in both eyes with your dark type there." The main Rocket laughed maliciously, before letting out his other two pokémon. One was an Amoonguss, while the other she didn't recognize. It looked like a fighting type though. The Krokorok had a scar going from its jaw, all the way up to the left eye, where there was nothing but a hole.

Nearly gagging at the implication, she had to ignore it for now, she knew Spencer had done it to protect her, and wouldn't have done it if she had any other choice. Spencer roared at his words, but waited for Everest's commands.

"Spencer, Agility. Burn, cover her with Swift." She wasn't sure where to aim yet, seeing as the other rockets would surely let out their own pokémon, leaving them unprotected. Distantly, she was wondering if Icee and Shawn had managed to save Drac, and if they got sucked into the current too? She swallowed back the fear, one thing at a time.

"Reina, Poison Sting at the Hitmontop." Damien ordered, Everest silently wondered if Damien knew who they were, or just that they hurt Drac. Cataloging the name of the fighting type, Spencer began blurring around the field as she gained speed.

"Flamethrower on Amoonguss." The flames were so hot she could feel them from across the field, but when the smoke cleared, a new pokemon was revealed. Hovering over the ground, the poisonous pokemon was leaking smoke, immediately making Everest woozy.

"That's poisonous smoke, cover your mouth." Damien ordered, moving his bandana so it did so, and Everest had to simply pull her shirt over her mouth. "Reina, get in close to the Weezing, and use Double Kick." As a poison type, she couldn't be poisoned, but that didn't stop Everest from worrying about the small creature.

"Flamethrower again! Sand attack." Desperate to buy them some time, she hoped that Burn could distract the group so they could pick them off one by one. Before Spencer could hit the grass type, a huge cloud of stun spore went over the field, and as the flames hit, a huge explosion burst out, throwing both trainers to the ground.

Picking herself up off the ground, her stomach sunk as she realized this was Team Rocket's plan all along. All pokémon out at the time had fainted from the explosion. Sure, Team Rocket's were gone, but that also meant all of her own and Damien's were as well. Then, the two grunts released their collective five pokémon, each had their own battles scars.

"Give up your pokéballs, and we won't kill you." Even with her ears ringing she could understand him as he walked forward, a malicious grin on his face, and Everest looked helplessly at her friends scattered on the field. Each sporting awful wounds she couldn't imagine trying to treat. Struggling to even push herself onto her hands and knees, the Rockets laughed above her, the girl even kicked the trainer in the stomach. Crying out in pain, she curled up on herself trying to protect the most sensitive parts of her body.

"Michal, just kill her. Use my Arbok." The girl laughed, before kicking Everest once more. By now, Everest could only feel pain, curled up in a ball, completely defenseless. With one last kick, she passed out from the pain.

\- - DEDR- -

Damien struggled to his feet, his ears still rang from the explosion and he saw huge light spots in his vision. But, his first order of business, check on Everest. Blinking away the lights, he readied himself to be attacked, only to see the strangers crowded around Everest. His gut clenched as the girl kicked Everest right in the temple. His hands strayed to his last poke ball, brushing over the cool metal. He didn't want to subject his friend to this level of pain, there were five pokémon still standing, all belonging to the strangers. But, at the same time, he had to go down fighting, or give Icee and Shawn enough time to get help… Evading any common sense, he threw the ball out, releasing his pokémon with a speed stat of 10.

"Ezra, look what they did to our friends." Damien whispered, almost falling to his knees. The ground type looked out over the mass destruction, puddles of blood, unconscious forms of friends and foes alike, the ground utterly destroyed.

Ezra clacked angrily, angrier than Damien had ever seen the timid Trapinch. Without warning, he summoned huge chunks of earth from the ground, throwing them at the trainers and their distracted pokémon.

"Distract them, I'll get our friends out of the way." Damien immediately recalled Reina, before limping over to Everest's broken form. Meanwhile, he ignored the sound of mass destruction behind him. Cries of pain, he couldn't tell human or pokémon, maybe both. It took too long to get to Everest, and he easily picked up her pokéballs from the ground.

Luckily, none of her balls were the same type, he mused to himself before he had to hold back throwing up. As he pointed the normal ball towards the dark type, he noted that Spencer's arm was bent in four places. He tried not to look at the others after that, unable to imagine what became of the rest of them when such a powerful member of Everest's team was taken out easily.

He finally allowed himself to look for Ezra, his closest companion. Ezra was surrounded by whirling rocks. The chunks of earth were spinning around the ground type like a shield, varying from sizes of a baseball to almost bigger than a car. A Wheezing, three Ekans, the Pancham, Amoonguss, Hitmontop all littered the ground, all in varying conditions of not moving. What remained were two Arbok hissing at Ezra, dodging every attack the ground type managed to throw at them. But, Damien could see the exhaustion creeping in.

"They're okay." Damien knew his pokémon heard him, he had to. Now, the Trapinch could decimate them. Granted, he knew there wasn't really a move Ezra could perform that fit that bill, but his hopes were still there as he fell to the ground, adrenaline now lessening after a couple days without decent sleep. After his fall, all hell broke loose.

The ground fragmented, in a huge ray extending away from Ezra, the Trapinch began pounding his feet into the ground, which visibly shook the ground below the gang of the strangers. And like that, pokémon were recalled and the three humans ran off. Coming in and out of consciousness, he failed to notice three forms of pokémon lying on the ground that could not be recalled by their balls, one more singed than any of the rest.


	18. Author

**Hey, I'm sorry this isn't a chapter, but I needed to let all my readers know that until further notice, my updates won't be daily. I just found out that I have to undergo brain surgery in the next few days. So, until I recover, updates won't be periodic, only when/if I have time. Thank you in advance for your understanding, and I really want to thank everyone who has been reading my stories. I really do enjoy writing, and seeing your feedback even more. I'm so sorry everything will be out of wack, but I'm freaking out a bit already at everything else.**

 **Thank you, Everyone**

 **Zoroarkkk**


	19. Lost Hotel

The ground was surprisingly cool, Everest dully noted before pushing herself to her arms. Noting the lack of fur around her, she wondered where her pokémon had wandered off to without her. Perhaps it was Damien, she mused. He was probably trying to use her friends as mock target practice, he sure could use it.

However, when she awoke, she frowned at the ceiling. It was neither the normal tent top, the dawn sky, or even a Pokémon center. Eaten out wooden boards with a broken chandelier hung from the devastated ceiling. She was lying in a broken, but (somewhat) surprisingly clean bed, with two layers of blankets she certainly didn't recognize. Examining the room, she wanted to freak out, but couldn't find a better reason than she didn't know where she was. There was nothing dangerous living about, nothing had threatened her, but she was curious as to why none of her friends were around.

But, as she stood, a sick feeling came over her. She could _remember_. Rushing out of the room, she had the blanket pulled around her shoulders, looking every which way for any sign that any of her friends were okay.

"Spencer! Icee! Where are you? Damien? Burn!" She was yelling frantically, passing through the decaying hallways. Each room she passed was abandoned, floors rotting in one place and walls caving in in another. "Shawn! Where are you?" Coming around a corner, she screamed as she ran into something, falling on her butt. Scrambling to situate herself against the wall, her eyes searched the hallway, what she found didn't help her anxiety at all.

The pokémon was pretty small, with a black body and cute curling arms, it swayed passively in the air, looking down at her with wide yellow eyes. The Lampent didn't make any sounds, but watched her patiently.

"Do you know where my friends are?" It sat there and thought for a few moments before nodding slowly, levitating away. Everest stood, hesitantly following, knowing exactly what kind of damage the precursor to Lampent could do.

She was led down hallway after hallway, and just after she was about to ask the little guy if he was lost, she was led to a huge set of doors. These seemed to be one of the best kept places in the…place. Where ever she was. Golden trim surrounded the doors, nicely polished, the wood was in pristine condition, as if someone ripped it from a castle and put it here. The dual ghost-fire type watched her for a second before pushing the door open.

Once the door opened, she was in a whole different world. Ceilings were so high, and in the rafters she could see a couple more Lampent, hovering, hopefully asleep. Litwick were sitting on the sides of the room, watching her as she entered, all flames unlit. Despite all of the ghost types, it was a cheery environment. The windows were open, allowing for bright rays of sun to be cast in, lighting up the well maintained battlefield in the middle. Chairs were placed around the middle, as if an audience was about to show up to watch the biggest match of the year. The sight in the middle of the room was what she was really looking for though.

"Thank god you're okay." Everest cried into Spencer's shoulder. The Zoroark awkwardly hugged her, but Everest didn't care. The fucking Rockets, she was going to make them pay, she didn't care how, but she would. A cold nose nudged her ankle, and she quickly swept the Eevee into her arms. "I was so worried about you too." She guessed she might have been crushing poor Icee to her chest, but she didn't care. Looking down at Burn and Shawn, she fell to her knees, examining every inch to make sure they were okay.

Tears running down her cheeks, Everest was still relishing in the warmth of her friends, bathing in the softness and feeling of safety. Nuzzling their fur, each gave their own reassurances and licks to Everest, clearly happy she was alright as well.

"Can I get a hug too?" Everest spun around and hugged him too, before breaking to look down at who must have been their savior.

"Thank you Ezra. You're the best to-be-dragon I've ever met." Everest smiled, petting him who clacked happily back to her, she pet Reina's head too, happy to see she was safe as well. She then met Damien's eyes before looking around the room at all the ghost types. "Did these guys save us?" Damien's face was darker than she had ever seen, he was more serious.

"As far as I have gathered, the Litwick have the ability to not only take life essence, but give as well. They healed us, some beyond what I thought possible." Everest looked around at the ghosts, maybe they weren't so bad.

"Who?" Damien kicked the dirt for a few seconds, every second made Everest's stomach churn. By the time she was about to kick his ass, he opened his mouth.

"Burn… he should have been dead. The Lampent came around to collect souls. Watched the last of it happen and saved him." She wanted to punch him for even telling her, almost was the same as not. How could he even know? But, she didn't. She didn't punch him, she didn't kick, hit, or spit on him. Instead, she hugged him, tears running down her cheeks.

"Wait, where's Drac?" The apparent lack of screeching was noticeable, she searched the rafters before Damien shrugged. Her heart went cold.

"You don't mean…" His eyes were steel, he turned away, looking to the Litwick. Some of them had begun speaking, sounding like nothing more than whispers, the temperature dropping twenty degrees.

"I asked the Lampent to go out and search, they couldn't find any life signs besides Shawn and Icee." She gave him another quick hug, words couldn't do his loss justice. Before walking over to the Lampent, Everest gave his hand a gentle squeeze, then met the Pokémon that had led her here in the first place.

"Thank you, for everything. I know it isn't much, but you can have this, so you are always protected." She took out the purple stone from her bag, holding the Dusk Stone for the fire type to see. Its flame burned brighter at the item, before spinning in a circle seemingly happy. As she was about to set it on the floor, a cool metal hand met hers for an instant, and they were bathed in a blueish eerie glow. Different from all the other evolutions she had seen yet, she watched in wonder as it grew out and up, the metal curling intricately. With one smaller surge of light, the new pokemon was revealed. A Chandelure floated above her, looking happy, or at least Everest thought so. Soon, the ghost type was surrounded by its friends, each impressed with the power.

"Let's get out of here." Damien took her hand, and their pokémon followed obediently, all anxious to leave the odd situation. With one last look behind her, Everest watched the Chandelure as it lit up all of the candles around the room, casting the battle room into a golden glow.

 **Thank you annoyingintrovert** **for your wishes (and I have no idea what they say, so why not), and many thanks to all your follows and favorites! Here's a shorter chapter, I couldnt leave you all on a cliff hanger for long.**


	20. Route 15

All was quiet as they sat around the small campfire, staring into the flames, no one dared speak. The sign for route 15 was barely twenty paces behind them, after leaving the hotel, they ran as far as they could make it without breaking into tears.

Spencer was the furthest from the fire, she stood at the edge of the clearing, ears twitching at every single noise coming from the forest. On edge, she had left a few times to investigate noises in the darkness, but returned moments later. Everest trusted that if something was wrong, she would let her know, so for now, Everest was subjected to the silence and images of the gruesome fight from the previous day.

Ezra seemed to be taking Drac's disappearance the worst, he was nudging the empty pokéball that sat in full view beside Damien. So far, he hadn't made any noise besides to eat the food Everest put out for all the pokémon.

"While we were there, one of the Liwick taught Icee Attract." Damien's voice broke the silence, his voice monotone. The Eevee perked up at her name, before moving to comfort the male trainer. Watching in interest, the Eevee didn't seem to be any different. That was the first move she learned since she had been with Everest… she should probably work on that. Along with strengthening the rest of her team.

"We won't let them get away with that. We have to stop Team Rocket." The dark haired boy didn't look up, only keeping his gaze on their remaining pokémon. "The man, the boss from before, I met him in Lumiose. He tried to kill me, I barely got out alive." Spencer growled protectively at Everest's words, before moving to stalk her way around the camp, patrolling. "Diantha isn't doing anything about it. Leaving Kalos exposed."

"Imagine how many people could be going through what we just experienced, or worse, right now. If Team Rocket is as evil as all the news reports say… no doubt they have a base set up in Kalos, countless members living right in front of us." The reality sunk in, and Damien was right. Who knows just how many people are loosing their lives or their pokémon to Team Rocket. And if she has somehow run into them twice, others would have had to see them by now. "If gym leaders and the Elite four can't stop the Rockets, what can we do?"

The question hung in the air for the rest of the night, after all what could a couple of kids do?

\- - ESIBS - -

The next morning served as the testing grounds for newest moves. Agility was great for Spencer, as she was now easily the fastest of the entire group, and could easily avoid the attacks sent at her. That is, except for Ezra's newest move: Earthquake. It proved to be a devastating move, creating huge cracks in the earth, jarring the bones of both trainers if they ventured too close. Luckily, Ezra managed to keep a good handle on the move, and it has yet to get out of control.

Granted, the trees around the clearing probably could have been taken easy on, some were at a 45 degree angle from the tremors. But, after centuries of evolution, the trees and plant life should be used to the supernatural moves.

Shawn had a turning point however, now, he wanted to train just as hard as the rest, and was now working with Burn. The fire type was trying to teach Shawn bite, but at the same time was trying to learn fire fang himself. Without two poison types or even a steel type, Reina had to practice on her own, as they were nowhere near a center or even near a store selling Antidote.

But during all this training was when the really important planning was drawn out. They were busy trying to figure out all of their planning, all the timing and where they needed to be and when. With so much things that needed to be done in such little time, they were trying to figure which gyms were best to visit. Anistair was close, and didn't have too many advantages or disadvantages over psychic types, so their next stop was the psychic gym.

\- - DER - -

"Ezra, use Dig." Everest watched from the sidelines as the teal pokémon burrowed underground, happily listening to his trainer. The Klefki across the field was clinking in worry as it tried to guess where Ezra would emerge from.

"Calm down! Use mirror shot when it comes out." The steel-fairy type never got the chance, as her trainer was talking, Ezra left from the ground with perfect aim to the foe. Knocked aside, Klefki now had enough time to summon the move, and with a blinding flash, everyone in the vicinity rubbed their eyes to rid themselves of the burning sensation. "Draining kiss." That was a mistake on the girl's part, Everest mused to herself as she pet Shawn.

The moment Klefki got in close enough to 'kiss' Ezra, the ground type snapped his jaws around one of the keys before giving it a good shake. Soaring through the air, utterly confused and disoriented, the trainer had no other choice than to recall her pokémon.

"That was a great battle, thank you." She smiled sweetly as she put her ball away. Honestly, Everest couldn't remember the girl's name when she introduced herself, mainly because she was too distracted from all the fake giggles and blushes she sent Damien's way. She ran forward to shake hands with Damien, a wad of cash in her grip.

"Yeah, that was fun. Next time, watch for more than type advantages." Everest could admit her companion was kind, he was good at telling people how to win the next time. The brunette girl just blushed heavier as she handed over Damien's spoils, contemplating saying something.

"Well, you could teach me. Wanna come along on my journey?" She leaned forward and pecked Damien on the lips, who had frozen in shock, and Everest was just as surprised.

"Um, as nice as the offer sounds, I um… don't want to?" It posed as more of a question as he flushed, backing away from the girl. Bursting out in laughter, Everest laughed so hard she fell onto her back, and the girl stomped away angrily. "I really don't want to." Damien mumbled the last part before he picked up Ezra. The Trapinch clacked excitedly, before a soft glow began over his body.

"Holy crap." Everest stopped laughing immediately, scooting back a few feet. Damien set his pokémon down gently, sitting right beside the soon to be dragon.

The light intensified, while the Trapinch began his evolution. She was really nervous, sure, she liked Ezra, but if he turned out to be an out-of-control dragon, that might all change. Huge cracking sounds came from Ezra, and she shivered at the sight. Cracks erupted in the hard skin, light shining through as the shell pieces fell to the ground. From the wreckage of the shell, a winged creature emerged.

As the light died down, she could spot the orange wings, shifting as the dragon-ground type felt them for the first time. Big, bright orange eyes focused on Damien, as he buzzed. The new sound was a lot different than the clacking from before, antennae wiggling as the Vibrava got used to his new body.

"Hey buddy. How are you feeling?" Ezra crawled forward to Damien, moving slowly, still adjusting his wings every so often. Even as she watched him, Everest's worries were depleting. He still looked docile, not the scary image she had in her mind of a Vibrava. She got out her PDéx, letting the circle spin. In a quick blur of orange and yellow, Ezra was perched on Damien's head, proud of himself. Everest smiled along with Damien, their fears quelled quickly.

Reina crept forward, carefully watching Ezra's form. The Nidoran seemed confused by the sudden and drastic change, who chattered worriedly at the broken shell on the ground, nudging it with her nose. Damien scooped her up, almost laughing at the cuteness she just displayed.

"Ezra's fine, don't worry. See?" Still wary, it took Ezra to fly down and perch himself on Damien's knee to confirm his identity. Reina chattered happily, nuzzling Ezra after that, and the others followed after that. Spencer experimentally puffed an ember at the winged creature, but, when Ezra tried to chomp on the move, his tiny mouth barely opened, and instead got a face full of fire.

This proved to be disastrous, as now their rivalry was ignited once more, and Spencer grinned before jumping forward quickly, knocking Ezra onto the forest floor. Stifling a chuckle, they watched on in amusement as he was forced to adapt to his new body, having trouble flying away from Spencer. The Zoroark was calmly following, taking it easy on the dragon as it tumbled through the air. He angrily buzzed, flying higher into air, trying to evade the swipes.

"Does he have any new moves?" This was asked quietly, if a new dragon type move was already earned just through evolution, no doubt it would be much too powerful to control. So, he held up his Pokédex.

"Vibrava, the Vibration Pokémon. It generates ultrasonic waves by violently flapping its wings. After making its prey feint from severe headaches, it melts the prey with acid. Moveset: Rock Slide, Dig, Earthquake, and Sandstorm." All trainers knew that after copious amounts of time training, and especially after evolution, pokémon forgot some of their weaker attacks in order to learn new ones. But, Everest was surprised to see that many moves have changed.

"Does that mean we get to basically live in a desert now?" She was not a fan of the goggles she wore for almost three weeks straight, not only did it give her headaches, she had red marks that lasted almost as long. Plus, sand was not part of a nutritious diet. Damien seemed to enjoy the possibility, leaning back on his arms as they observed the mock fight.

"Doubtful, he doesn't even know he can-" He was cut off by a sudden wind change, blowing dirt and dust into the air. "-use Sandstorm," Sighing, he stood up, going directly to the center of the less severe sandstorm than the natural ones she had seen. "Knock it off Ezra!" Only a few moments after he yelled, it died down to reveal Spencer covered in sand as she lied on the ground, with Ezra standing on top of her.

After regrouping, Damien took Ezra off to a different part of the forest, with Reina following, out of ear shot, probably to reprimand the pokémon for endangering the others. Anything that wasn't a ground, rock, or steel type would be hurt from the sand, which included their entire party.

Spencer shuffled over to her, huffing as she tried to rid herself of the particles of sand stuck in her fur. Taking the time to pull out their cache of pokémon food, she then set out the two different types they had bought. After winning a fair amount of battles, they bought special food for pokemon in their first stage of evolution, and one kind for evolved pokemon. This way, their nutrients would be provided for ether upcoming evolutions or to support new body types. Once the remaining pokémon were settled in, she took out her brush, getting rid of the evidence of the battles they've gone through along with the sand and dirt.

With her new down time, she figured that after all this craziness, she ought to double check their movesets, she hadn't checked since before Team Rocket.

Spencer- Pursuit, Aerial Ace, Foul Play, Flamethrower, Agility

Icee- Mist, Protect, Tackle, Attract

Shawn- Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack

Burn- Sand Attack, Swift, Ember, Fire Fang, Bite

A few of the moves she had gotten used to seeing, Fake Tears in particular, were gone. While it was bound to happen, as a six-and-half foot tall dark type wasn't really pathetic when crying, it was still disappointing. She would need new methods as well as moves to fall back on. But, she also needed to get both of her Eevee better moves. Turning to her hateful machine, she began to search for possible moves.

\- -ESIBS- -

No further than a day's walk from Dendemille, the Route was becoming much busier, but not with trainers. Apparently, at this time of year around the small town, berry bushes were in full bloom, which means that the harvesters in the town brought their bug Pokémon to ensure that they were pollinated, in turn brought hundreds of wild bug types as well. Meaning that if they even tried to get within five yards of any of the bushes (berry or not) they had angry bugs threatening them. Which also didn't prove to be good for their companions, who had grown very protective over their trainers. That was how they got in their current predicament.

"Ezra, come." The Vibrava was buzzing menacingly at a couple Beedrill, who certainly were not a fan of the humans who had followed the main path right into their 'territory'. Everest had only Spencer out, who was remaining right next to Damien and Everest, protective, but careful of the wild pokémon. Ezra on the other hand, was standing in the middle of the two groups, wings moving at high speeds as he stared them down.

It wasn't as if Ezra was being overly threatening, they were stupid enough not to see the increased number of Weedle in the area, but he was endangering himself, not waiting for backup. So, they were caught in a standoff.

"Recall Spencer." Listening to her companion, she did as asked, and no later did his next command come. "Sandstorm, then Rock Slide." By now, thankfully Ezra had managed to control the wind a little bit, so the trainers didn't get a fateful of the huge wave of sand. Rather than seeing, they felt the shifting of the earth as Ezra sent rocks at the Beedrill. Now, Ezra was on his own, he needed to prove his worth. A little longer than a minute, huge shockwaves rocked the earth, nearly sending the humans to their knees. As the rumbles stopped, the sandstorm died down, revealing two very dead Beedrill, and an injured Ezra.

Now dyed a bit of purple, Ezra was poisoned, with a puncture wound in his side from one of the stingers. Wincing at the sight of the bugs, she would have felt worse if it weren't for the many husks hanging above them in the trees. Beedrill may pollinate flowers, but they didn't even eat berries, they feasted on the poor pokémon lured into eating the berries. By the look of all the hanging corpses, including one that looked too human to be a coincidence, they've been set up here for quite a while.

"Nice job Ezra." Everest mumbled before picking a few berries that had already begun growing, and giving them to him. Now with a much smaller mouth, it was funny to see him try and eat one berry at a time, when he used to eat at least forty if he was given that many. After he was fed, Damien recalled him, before they continued on, this time, Icee joined.

"Are you going to have her evolve in the cavern?" Damien's question was one she had been asking herself ever since they decided to go to the cavern. Glaceon, a rare evolution of Eevee, considering you had to be willing to enter the coldest parts of the world to try and trigger it. She was willing to bet that Damien suggested this exact place to try and help her too.

Considering Icee already knew an ice move suggested that one of her parents were an ice type, which could mean that she would be even more powerful than another Eevee of a different line as a Glaceon. But, she also didn't want to force her.

"I don't know." And that was the truth.


	21. Dendemille Town

"Can I interest you in some MooMoo milk?" There were a surprising number of people in the town, enough to support a market like this one, or at least enough travelers passing through. But, Everest had to admit, the offer was tempting. After all, it did have healing properties.

"I'll take four please." Everest wanted to visit the different stands before they began to explore the rest of the town, apparently the market was only open four days out of the week. The man smiled at her, and passed her the four glass jugs.

"2,000." Nearly faltering, she passed him the money, and stuffing the jugs in her bag. Damien watched her with disinterest, merely following her as she led them to the next stall.

"I'm telling you, he was totally hassling you, looked like the hassling type." Ignoring his whiny voice, she next found a stall full of winter gear."Finally something we actually need." Shooting him a pointed look, he quickly shut up, instead examining the tables full of jackets, scarves, hats, boots and the like.

"You two look like a lovely couple." The woman behind the stall cooed, much to their surprise. Shocked to silence, she took that as the chance to continue cooing. "Oh young love, I miss the days when I was chasing after my next boy. Oh, those were the days." Everest struggled for words, and Damien looked like he was about to faint. They were twelve and fourteen for Arceus' sakes, they really weren't thinking about that.

"Um, we're just traveling together. Friends. Could you tell us what we will need for a week in the Frost Cavern?" She sighed dreamily as she gestured to the jackets hanging up.

"To be young again." She didn't even look that old, maybe 35, at the oldest, so they sat there uncomfortably waiting for her to continue talking. After brushing her hands over the fabric a few times, she grabbed a dark green coat, and a purple coat. "These will do fine for you two, waterproof, but warm enough for the wind below the surface." They each made a separate stack, guessing she was about to load them up. "How about gloves or mittens? Mittens are warmer, but gloves move easier, then we have an ice pick, I would recommend at least one for the pair of you. That way if you fall down a cavern you can save yourself, or if one of your limbs is frozen by a Bearatic," Spoken as if she was talking about the weather, they made eye contact, was this still worth it? Of course.

"And, what about those?" There were a few ropes hanging on the wall, golden thread intertwined through the fibers. Everest's question was suddenly cut of by Damien asking about pokémon in the tunnels, which the lady answered, seemingly forgot about Everest's question.

\- - ESIBS - -

By the time they walked away from the stand, they had made a deal for the jackets, gloves, thick pants, scarves, an ice pick, and a set of thermoses. Karen, the woman's name, promised they could return if they weren't happy with the merchandise.

"What were those ropes?" Damien pushed his supplies into his pack, thanks to the similar technology to pokéballs, practically anything and everything could fit. He looked around for a few moments before tapping Ezra's pokéball.

"If you have a pokémon that knows Dig, you don't need an escape rope. But, in a town like this? One that finds its revenue from the cave, they exploit pokémon like that. I've heard stories of pokémon 'wandering' off all of a sudden, never to return. If it hadn't been for the recent events, she would say Damien was overly cautious, but who knows now. Anyone could be a rocket, they didn't need to have the stupid R on their chest.

They remained silent, carefully watching their peripheral, as if Rockets would suddenly emerge from the crowd, demanding Ezra or they would demolish the town. As unbelievable as it sounded, it seemed to grow more likely by the day.

Two more stops, then they could leave. Even if civilization was a relief, because that meant they could receive care and their friends, but after weeks of only them, being around this many people was a little weird. They needed medical attention just to ensure everything was okay after the Rocket situation, even if the Litwick and Lampent seemed to fix everything. The other? Food. Plenty of food for the pokémon didn't equate to food for the humans.

"Up ahead, that looks like a trainer stop." One of the stands had a sign in front of it, only a picture of potions and food provided the advertising, but it was good enough for them. It seemed to be a permanent stand with a back room. As they got closer, they could hear a huge commotion behind the walls. Angry yells and shouts were indecipherable, as at least three separate voices were arguing.

"No! You can't leave yet! Get back here you brat." A man's voice yelled, hidden behind the walls, an embarrassed woman stood at the front counter, clearly uncomfortable with the shouting behind her.

"Hi, how can I help you?" In order to be heard over angry yelling and items falling in the back, she practically had to yell. Everest looked at the merchandise, flinching as what sounded like glass shattered behind the walls.

"Um, can I have-" A loud scream followed, nearly bursting their eardrums, and they had to cover their ears in order to remain sane.

"Shut up the pair of you!" With the cashier's yelling, all went silent, including the market place around them. Slowly, the door to the back room swung open, revealing a tired looking man. He had a few scratches along his face, a nasty looking bite on his hand, as well as a few bruises scattered along his exposed skin.

"Ah, my apologies. I recently got a feral pokémon, it isn't quite comfortable around me yet." He sighed, brushing some dust off his shoulder. "Come on out little guy." Everest nodded, most were never as easy to capture as hers were, especially at high levels. Most had an attitude problem if they couldn't find respect for their trainer.

An disgruntled growl followed, before a small, purple pokémon came waddling out from the backroom, clearly uncomfortable with the bandages wrapped around its torso. It looked more like an awkward Delibird, struggling to walk on its own two feet. It hissed angrily at the man, shrieking as he tried to escape the bandages that gave him a mummified look.

"Drac." Damien breathed, stunned. Wide eyes turned to the two trainers, as the Gligar froze before screeching even louder. Everest shed a tear at the sight, smiling softly as their lost friend didn't turn out to be dead. The stumbling bat barely managed to get out of the stand to meet Damien without falling as he tripped over his tail. Damien picked him up, hugging him to his chest. Gligar let out a string of screeches, each as incomprehensible as the last, but she had a feeling it was along the lines of 'You're not dead!'

After a teary reunion, (Everest pretended not to see the tears in his eyes) Damien turned to the people who must have rescued his Gligar. Holding the purple pokémon, he couldn't hold out his hand or anything to the surprised duo.

"Thank you so much, we had thought he died." The man smiled brightly, before a small frown appeared on his face as thy watched the small Gligar, who continued to screech, just a little quieter this time.

"We found him on a fishing trip, little bugger only survived as long as he did because he managed to stick his tail on a log. How did he get caught in a poacher's net?" After a quick exchange of looks from one trainer to the other, then down at Gligar, who seemed much smaller without use of his wings, Everest decided to speak up. She recounted some of the details, but remaining vague about the saving, just admitting both she and Damien passed out, and by the time they awoke, Gligar was long gone.

"Those damned Rockets are like a plague, spreading everywhere, killing everything." The woman spit, turning up her nose in disgust. "A group of 'em passed through here a couple weeks back. Took a whole colony of Bergmite from the cavern. By the time some of the rangers arrived, they were long gone." Everest frowned, thinking over the situation, disgusted by the idea. Ice types in particular didn't repopulate quickly, so taking a colony from the Frost Cavern? It could damage the eco system forever.

"What would they want with Bergmite?" The man shrugged, sneering in disgust. Everest's question went on unanswered, the group stood there, mainly watching Gligar as he relaxed into his trainer's hold.

"Well, I am happy to see he didn't loose his trainer. We had tried to capture him to make transportation faster. When it didn't take, we grew worried." The man patted Damien on his shoulder before making eye contact with the Gligar. "Young man, you are very lucky to have such a loyal Gligar. Every second he was trying to get out there to find you. And you," Drac screeched, listening to the man. "are lucky to have a trainer who will put up with your shit." Everest burst out in laughter, and Damien chuckled too, petting Drac, who was screeching at the implication.

"How are his wings?" Drac shrieked, struggling to prove just how fine he thought his wings to be. The trainer held him fast, not letting him try and bite the material.

"When we found him, they were pretty torn up. The nurse at the center recommended about another week from now you can take the bandages off. There wasn't much she could do, if she rushed the growth process, his wings would be too brittle." They watched their companion as he whined and shrieked half-heartedly, clearly wanting to take to the skies.

"Thank you, so much. You don't now how terrified we were." Everest thanked him before turning to the cache of foods stuff. "Now, could we have some of the instant mashed potatoes-"

\- - DEDR - -

That night, Everest and Damien were sharing a room in the Center, nearly jumping for joy at their most recent discovery, not to mention the next phase of the adventure would soon be underway. Everest sat on a chair, surrounded by her friends, meanwhile, Damien sat one of the beds with Reina and Ezra sitting beside him. They had yet to reveal the miraculous appearance of Drac.

Shawn was nearly asleep, leaning against Everest's stomach as he examined the room, watching the rest of the pokémon finish their food. Icee was sharing a bowl with Reina, they had recently come to some sort of alliance, which included tag teaming against Burn. The Flareon was eating quickly, scarfing everything down in sight, and Ezra would have done the same, had he actually had big enough of a mouth. Spencer had begun to eat even more than usual, and Everest was betting her friend was about to go through a growth spurt.

"Okay, guys, when we were in town today, we found something." Damien began, and all attention turned to him, his hand was hidden behind his back, no doubt holding the ball. "It was a complete surprise, a very good one." With that, red flashed through the room, and a very glum looking Drac appeared.

A huge commotion, loud chittering, barks, buzzing, and growls followed, as they all surrounded the bat. Drac looked uncomfortable being incapacitated in front of the others, as he shuffled with the bandages. The first one to make it to Drac, was surprisingly Shawn, who licked the bandages, nuzzling him. Then, it was Ezra, who Drac didn't recognize at first, but when he did, it was hysterical. His mouth fell open, and the Vibrava just buzzed in return, who then let Reina join the fray. The Nidoran sniffed a few times, before feigning indifference and walking away.

Spencer lovingly licked the tuft on his head, which seemed to annoy the Gligar, but didn't do anything about it. Icee and Burn were the last to walk up to him, they nuzzled him happily, sharing a few words before they all sat, watching Gligar.

"Alright guys, you guys can catch up for now, we leave in the morning." With that, the lights were turned off, casting the room in darkness, except for their permanent nightlight: Burn. Soft pokémon whispers followed, indecipherable to the trainers, who were lulled to sleep by the soft noises.

\- - ESIBS - -

The town was utterly beautiful, huge windmills spun slowly, powering everything around them. A soft layer of snow covered the ground, not more than an inch, but enough to expect the huge range of mountains behind them, where the snowcaps were surely much deeper. All the roads and paths were hand placed cobblestone, each placed with care by the countless pokémon and humans who must have worked on it decades prior. Sleepy houses were built into the mountainside or the forest, like they were literally growing from nature herself. It had an air of peace and beauty, one they could appreciate as it had been something Damien and Everest hadn't had in a long time.

Following the cobblestone path, the town slowly melted away, fading into a frost covered forest, with a sign before them. FROST CAVERN AHEAD. It was old and worn, but still readable, probably only due to constant repainting and repair. The black paint was fairly new, and two broken pokéballs laid at the bottom of the sign.

"This is a better warning than at the Resort." Damien muttered, brushing off the thin layer of snow off of the pokéballs in respect for the fallen. Even if Drac turned out to be alive, he could still feel the dread that lied in his stomach for days.

"Do you suppose that's because it is much more dangerous?" Everest examined the terrain, one that held mystery and danger, a chill hung in the air, one that would haunt them for weeks to come.


	22. Frost Cavern, first floor

**Frost Cavern- first floor**

Burn seemed to hate the terrain with a passion. Currently off pouting, the Flareon was shooting embers at Shawn who was kicking up snow to hit Burn. Everest would have taken the time to laugh at them, if it wasn't for Damien ordering Ezra to hurl a flurry of rocks her way.

"Icee, throw up some protection barriers, then use attract." Green lights appeared on the field, protecting not only Icee from the stray rocks, but one covered Everest too, preventing a pretty large rock from taking her head off. "Thanks."

"Don't fall for it!" Damien yelled, but cringed the moment Icee began to twirl. Little hearts floated around the makeshift battlefield, and landed directly on Ezra who was flying at top speeds to try and avoid it. Flailing, the Vibrava failed to maintain enough attention to himself, and hit the ground in a puff of dirt. "Idiot." Damien mumbled with complete fondness and moved to pick his dragon up.

"Nicely done Icee." Excited about the new move, attract could be really useful. Icee pranced around her feet. She took the time to step back and observe the landscape, the space few traveled, as many heeded the warning of the Frost Cavern, no matter the beauty on the outside.

It had snowed the previous night, so everything was covered with light, fluffy snow. The kind that refused to stick together no matter how much you wanted to make a snowman. Only a few inches deep, the pokémon decided it was fun to run through, even if it brushed the bottom of their stomachs. The pine trees around them were beautiful, powdered snow made it a picturesque landscape.

However, there were underlying hints of the danger lurking in the cave system in the distance. Deep claw marks were gouged into various tree trunks, unnatural chunks of earth were lying in ruins, probably from a powerful ground or rock move. From afar, she could have sworn she saw something flying through the eerily quiet woods.

"Well, I think we should keep going. We've got at least two days before we make it to the base of the mountain." Damien pulled his pack up after he returned Ezra to the ball, before turning to his friend. "That's saying if we don't run into a blizzard, or something equally obnoxious." He grinned at the idea, before snickering at Everest's reaction. "Come on! We've got pokémon to catch, battle, and observe. Plus, looks like Icee likes the idea of being an ice type."

The brown pokemon was burrowing under the snow, scaring the shit out of Shawn when she popped up out of a snow bank. Now watching her, the trainer could see the happiness in her pokemon's eyes, and decided she would do her best to get Icee to evolve.

\- -ESIBS- -

"The caves are largely unmapped." Damien observed quietly, looking out over the cliff sides. One huge hole was gaping, the dark cave looking back out at them. "Can't be sure of what lies in the depths. All I know, is the stories. Powerful pokémon live down there." He wasn't having second thoughts, in fact, quite the opposite actually. The boy was excited to see power, a level of strength to pit himself against.

"We just need to be careful." Everest murmured unsurely, looking at the cave mouth which already looked incredibly dark. She couldn't imagine how dark and cold it was inside, even if she had heard many stories, and read even more of the icy cave system. "Besides, Spencer and Burn have fire moves." She had a bad feeling in her gut, that no matter how 'prepared' they were, it wouldn't be enough.

"Well, we can use dig, it's a fast way to get out if we're in trouble." Everest saw her friend brush his hand over the red and white ball at his side. "Okay, ready?" After nearly a half hour of just standing and gazing at the cave mouth, they picked up their bags and began their trek inside.

There were footprints in the snow that covered the ground, nicely packed down, and she briefly wondered how so much snow was evenly spread inside the cave, away from the snow storms outside. Most were pokémon shaped, except for maybe a few boot prints, but they could have easily been just big feet belonging to a wild pokémon, after all, she wasn't well versed in footprint shapes.

"Woah, look at those." Damien pointed up towards the ceiling, huge icicles hung from above, all which could easily skewer anyone below them. They were beautiful though, glittering in whatever light hit them. "Reina, come on out." In a flash of red, his newest pokémon joined them, and Everest copied his movements.

"Icee, we've made it." The passageway they were in at the moment was barely big enough to fit all four walking right beside each other, so the trainers let the two curious pokémon venture ahead by a few steps. It was truly breathtaking, but eerily silent at the same time.

"No one has recorded where you can have Eevee evolve down here, just that they do." Damien spoke quietly, glancing around for any sign of life within the caverns. The walls had gouges carved out, by work of pokémon or human, it was unclear, but there was a motionless Bergmite collapsed on one side of the cave. Everest kneeled beside the pokémon, gently trying to urge it up. As she tried to nudge it, she noticed a large crack in the once living ice, cracked to the core. It laid in what had appeared to be a puddle of water, but now she assumed otherwise.

"Do you think… Rockets?" Swallowing back her sorrow, she picked up the lifeless body with care. Icee and Reina watched carefully, and Damien stood beside her.

"The little guy must have put up a fight." They continued walking, the pokémon on higher alert now, and Damien was watching behind them, careful to make sure no Rocket got the jump on them. They quickly came upon a huge cavern, one that stretched high above their head. Far out on either side, and leading to other cave systems. They decided to settle down there, and Everest took the time to burry the Bergmite underneath a pile of snow.

"Let's make camp here." They all got to work after a moment of silence for the pokémon lost to the cavern.

\- - Everest- -

In the middle of the night, Everest was awoken by a ruffling noise. The only source of light was their dying campfire, which by now, had been reduced to only embers. It seemed that Reina, who had been on watch duty, fell asleep.

It only took a minute for Everest's eyes to adjust enough to make out the small form of a pokémon. Whatever it was, it was moving slowly around the camp, seemingly having a difficult time with that task. Slowly, it approached Everest, walking closer to the glow of the campfire.

Big, black, round eyes gazed at her. It babbled nonsense, swaying back and forth. It seemed happy to find someone awake. The blue skin glimmered in the dying light, still wet from the last time it was in the water.

"Hey there pal. What are you looking for?" Everest asked the small Poliwag. It seemed pretty young, still small, the new feet could barely hold its weight as it waddled around on the dry ground. It bubbled a little bit, swaying as it stood still. She dug around in her pack, which was zipped closed, and produced a Nanab berry. "Do you like these?" She could see the pokémon's intestines almost spin in hunger as a small gurgle came from the Poliwag's stomach. "You're hungry, aren't you?" She gave it over, still avoiding to look at the see through skin on its stomach. It gurgled once more before waddling off, tail wagging in happiness.

\- - DEDR- -

The next morning, Everest would have thought it to be a dream, except that there were small little foot prints all around them in the snow. Spencer didn't seem too worried, instead she was grooming her fur as Damien and Everest prepared a morning meal for their friends.

"So, what do you think it was?" Damien asked after a few minutes. He was carefully measuring out each portion, making sure it would last them as long as possible, but still gave the pokémon enough nutrients.

"A Poliwag." Shrugging, she ignored the look from Damien and continued warming up the preserved human food over the fire. "It was hungry, didn't mean any harm, so I gave it a berry." Serving food to their friends first, Everest grinned as Burn set his food on fire before eating it. "You're such a pyro." She mumbled affectionately, petting the wild fur.

"Where do you think all the pokémon went?" It was oddly silent, as if the cavern itself was holding its breath. Sure, sometimes pokémon were shy and reclusive, not wishing to come out to be seen by trainers, but not like this. So far, she was the only one to have seen a living pokémon, and that was a small Poliwag, nothing like the powerhouses everyone feared within the caves.

"Maybe they are all hiding, worried about us, after all, the last people in here were probably the Rockets." She wasn't sure if that was the answer, but it was her only answer she could give Damien at the moment, so she gave it a shot.

\- -ESIBS- -

Two days later, the group had gone deeper into the caves, and it was obvious by the change in temperature. Now, they had Burn out all the time, who was putting out warm air. Icee padded along happily, but the trainers on the other hand, were on guard. They had yet to even see any pokémon, something was terribly wrong, they realized. Everest had seen a movie like this, where all the living things except for the humans disappeared. It was frightening, and she was worried something would come and snatch her pokémon from her.

Finally they came across an underground river. It cut through the floor, the water rushing past fast enough not to freeze, this is most likely where the Poliwag came from. Hugging the coat against her body, the chill of the water was carried by the draft within the cave, giving an ache in her bones. This cavern was smaller, icicles hung from the walls, small holes hinted to the fact that pokémon lived within the walls.

Suddenly, with a huge splash, a blue form burst from the water, a large Poliwhirl snarled at them. its normally happy eyes were squinted in anger, holding its white hands up in defense.

Burn barked his warning, standing protectively in front of Everest. Icee yipped taking her own spot in front of Damien, whose pokémon all were weary of the cold. No one moved, barely breathed. Poliwhirl usually had calm, social natures, why the sudden hostility? Slowly, Everest walked forward, holding up her hands in a symbol of peace, hopefully it would understand.

"Everest! What are you doing?" Damien whisper shouted, and Burn barked at her angrily. Ignoring both, she slowly got out a berry from her pocket, and kneeled in front of the Poliwhirl.

"Would you like a berry?" It was awfully skinny, just like the Poliwag from before. With untrusting eyes, it grabbed the berry from her, slowly backing up. Once it made it to the river bed, three Poliwag burst from the water, and were offered the berry from their elder. Deciding on giving the starving pokémon space, she backed up beside Damien.

"That was a stupid move." Damien muttered, they all watched the group of wild pokémon. "Their food supply must have been cut off." Could the Rockets have done this? It wouldn't make sense if they were just taking the Bergmite, how long did they stay down here? Is it possible they scared off the majority of the pokémon within the cave?

"Come on, this way." Near the east corner of the cavern, an opening lied there, large enough for them to walk. Walking quickly, Everest and Damien dashed across the icy floor, keeping an eye out for territorial pokémon, or perhaps a Rocket.

It was lucky that Everest was leading the group, that her pokémon weren't ahead of them, because after a few steps into the walkway, Everest was pulled back by Damien, and they both fell, the wind knocked out of them.

"What- was that- for!" Speaking through a fit of coughs, Everest now laid on the freezing ground, colder than she had been before. And Damien was in his own fit of coughs, even spitting out some snow.

"Look, there." Hidden partially by the snow, two steps ahead of where she was about to step, was a metal contraption. Maybe about six feet wide, was a huge pokémon trap, metal teeth were around the edges, and if pressure had been applied to the middle of it, it would snap around the victim. "They were hunting a lot more than Bergmite."


	23. Sneak Peak Shhhhhh

**Okay guys! I'm so sorry for the long hiatus! I didn't mean to leave the story, but life got in the way. But this is me saying that I can finally turn my attention back to Everest and her party! PM me, or comment anything you might want to happen in the future for our heroes, and... here's a sneak peak at what is coming up, mainly cause I haven't finished the chapter I should have! I skipped a ahead a few chapters.**

They ran as fast as their feet would carry them. The smoke was coming from a car just outside of town, its entire front end encased in ice, must have flipped half a dozen times from the look of the wear and tear of the metal. The entire top was torn, and Damien and Everest tried to ignore the bloodied shapes within the car.

"What the…" Stunned into silence, the pair walked into what looked like a war zone. All of their pokémon were out, and without command, they rushed to check for survivors.

"Hi, I'm not sure if all of my fellow citizens of Kalos know me, but, my name is Diantha." Everest frowned at the television screen, shivering in her seat. Damien sat beside her, warming up his hands with a cup of hot tea. Burn sat on her lap, she gladly pet the warm fur. "I am the champion of this region, and I would like to make an official statement of what happened in Dendemille Town." A stack of note cards were obvious on the podium she spoke at, lights were flashing as the reporters caught pictures of the champion.

The few people in the center stopped and watched the screen, silently waiting for her to tell them how she was going to fix this mess, because it was much more than a disaster. It was horrifying. The streets filled with ice, people frozen solid, others impaled by falling ice.

"Three days ago, a couple travelers came upon the small town. It was encased in ice, killing all of the people currently residing there, bringing the death toll to a very frightening number, 284." Spencer sat at the door of the center, standing guard in case anyone decided to return. "There were no survivors to give us the estimate of how many wild pokémon invaded the town, but according to pokémon specialists, they were angered by the noise the windmills created." A heavy weight sunk in her stomach, no way.

"Don't tell me-" Damien breathed, clutching the side of the table.

"This was not an act of terrorism, instead it is due to human encroachment onto the powerful pokémon residing in the Frost Caverns. As a peaceful species, we humans need to reconsider our effect on natural habitats of our fellow creatures." The champion gestured to the Gardevoir beside her. "Now for questions. Yes, you there in the hat."

"What about the rumors that this is because of Team Rocket?" A male reporter asked, and a disapproving glare came from Diantha before she straightened up and smiled brightly. "Not to worry, the Elite Four and I have been very busy defending our region from the Rockets, and they are simply not a threat to us. They are only in regions not powerful enough to fight them off. But, with our amazing infrastructure and powerful trainers, such as yourselves, we are protected by every citizen standing amongst us. There are no Rockets in Kalos. Next question?"

Everest slammed her fist down on the table, sniffling back a sob. Tears poured out of her eyes. How could someone so strong be so ridiculous? Damien seemed to agree, as he angrily pushed the tea cup out of the way before storming off. After that, the TV seemed to fade out of existence.

"Don't worry Burn, we'll show everyone how dangerous she is, how dangerous they all are."


	24. Frost Cavern, 2nd and 3rd floors

Walking a lot more carefully than they had been before, Damien and Everest called their pokémon back for the majority of the exploring part. The risk of them wandering into a trap was far too great, and so far, they've barely seen any pokémon that they would need to battle. So far, they have deactivated three traps, all built for large pokémon.

The ground had steadily been slopping downwards, leading them deeper into the caverns. Breathing in, it felt like they were suffocating from the chill in the air, the coldness seeping through their bodies. Icee was currently on Everest's back, heating up the back of her neck. But, she was the only pokémon out, mainly because they weren't exactly sure how one evolves an Eevee here. So, they kept her out just in case it was an exposure type deal.

"So, Damien, are you still going to try and catch a pokémon in here?" Everest's voice bounced off the walls, small pokémon footprints were more common now, even if they still remained hidden.

"Doubtful. It will hurt the eco-system even more if I try, right? Besides, I'm guessing all the pokémon in here are so frightened of humans it would be a lost cause anyways." Damien said sadly as they watched for any sign of life. At least down here there were more tracks, even if it had dropped at least twenty degrees.

"Come on out Burn." Now, five days into the cave, their bags are now a little lighter and could walk just a touch faster, but not fast enough to stave off all cold. The fire type yipped happily, barking as his heat flared around them. The fire type didn't seem to mind the cold at all, if anything, he saw it as a challenge as he flared even hotter than normal.

Even in the cold and dark, where the Rockets had clearly laid their mark, the two trainers couldn't help but smile. Pokémon were smart, truly wonderful and amazing, even more than amazing… Everest paused her thought as her fire type began chasing his tail. Right. She laughed heartily, and clicked her tongue.

"Hey bud. We're going to keep exploring. Try and get Icee to become a Glaceon." Everest told him, and she could have sworn the pokémon nodded, before he barked at Icee, who yipped back. And with that, they continued down into the cavern, getting deeper and deeper every moment.

It didn't take too long for an odd sound to reach their ears, and they all quieted for a moment. Deep within the mountain, a low rumbling noise shook the ground. Well, it certainly wasn't a good sign… but at the same time, there was only backwards and forward to go.

"Well, I love moving towards unearthly sounds. Onward." Damien mumbled, before pulling Everest along with him, and Burn yipped happily, while Icee cooed in Everest's ear. Great. This was going to be great. More adventure right?

Every time there was a sharp enough turn that you could peak around a wall, they did so. As well as keeping an eye out for traps, Damien was busy writing down the turns they took, apparently creating his own map of the caverns. And then, they came to a huge opening, much like some of the spaces they had come across earlier.

High ceilings, wide walls, something huge carved out this one, and as they looked around the corner, Everest had a pretty good idea of what might have carved it.

"Don't tell me… we're going to help it, aren't we?" Damien mumbled, awestruck, and they were both scared out of their wits as they looked inside. In the huge cavern, laid a terrible sight. Blood was everywhere, and shivers raced up Everest's spine, and she wanted to throw up at the sight.

There, cornered in the cave, was a huge Beartic. There were walls of fire surrounding it, keeping it confined to one section of the cave, backed up into a corner. It was the biggest ice type she had ever seen, and its roars were pained, but still ferocious, and it hadn't even seen them yet.

"We have to Damien." Voice soft, Everest watched the pokémon struggle in pain. How the hell did Rockets manage this? They seemed to be literally everywhere. She knew that Damien wanted to help the ice type, but even she would admit, it was a scary thought.

"I know. Alright, we'll need all the help we can get." And, all of their pokémon were released. Each team stood near their trainer, and the mood quickly settled over the group, and they each looked pained for a pokémon they didn't know. "Why would they leave it here though? I don't see any Rockets?" Damien murmured, looking over his friends.

"Don't know. So… do you have a plan?" Damien frowned at Everest, she sheepishly laughed, well, she didn't have all the ideas, even if she wanted to save it.

"Alright, anyone that knows ground or fire moves, let's try and dig up that middle conductor. It will disrupt the wall of flames. And… Icee, you use protect, and try and save the Beartic from any more health loss. Everyone else, watch out backs for any Rockets." And just like that, the group split up. No point questioning the disastrous instructions. They didn't have any better ideas anyways.

Not even giving the wild pokémon time to react, Everest clung to Spencer's coat, hiding her face from the heat of flames in her fur. The tell tale roars of Beartic seemed to be lessening, so Everest hoped that the Eevee standing on her head was blocking the pain for the pokémon. But it was still so _loud._ Her ears rang with all the noise, ice cracking, pokémon shouts, flames roaring.

"Keep going Ezra! Almost there!" At Damien's shout, she peaked out from behind Spencer, and decided that she could be brave. Separating from Spencer, she watched as Ezra, Reina, Spencer, and Burn all attacked the ground below one of the contraptions creating the flame barrier. Behind them, the rest were carefully watching, ears pricked for anyone coming, and then, there was Icee, who stood atop Spencer, focusing so hard on creating the green barrier around the huge ice type.

And with one last, terrible groan, the conductor imploded, fizzled out, and fell to the ground. It was eerily silent in the cave, and no one moved. Slowly, Everest let her eyes trail over Beartic's coat, and saw all of the places the poor thing had been attacked. But, that wasn't the biggest concern, the biggest one, was that it stepped away from the wall, and it was giant compared to any of them, and angry.

It was a truly spectacular pokémon, there was no denying it. It was massive, and she was willing to bet it was larger than any records stated they could grow. Its frosty beard was massive, and she could feel the chill coming from the pokémon as it took a step forward.

By some miracle, the ice didn't crack under its feet, but Everest's confidence sure did. She stopped breathing, she really did, because now, it was only one stride away from stepping on her. It growled lowly, motioning with it's paws, and it wasn't the angry or pained growls they heard a moment before. More just… tired. And, Icee chirped back to it.

Everest made eye contact with Damien, trying to figure out if they were about to be lunch or not. Damien shrugged helplessly, and slowly began recalling his pokémon back, because Ezra was not having a fun time in the ice surely. Swallowing her fear, she recalled all but Spencer, Burn, and Icee.

"We're sorry about the Rockets." Speaking loudly, she hoped that it would know that Everest was addressing the white creature. It dipped its head in understanding, much to their shock, before it bent down, face to face with Icee (who still stood atop Spencer, so it wasn't too much of a stretch for the old bear)

Everest had half a mind to screech and recall Everest, who looked to be a tasty treat for the wild pokémon, like who knows how long it had been stuck there? But, as it bent down, she saw odd blue symbols appear over the fur. They shimmered, old ruins that Everest had never seen before, that had to be important, right? And then, the room dropped twenty degrees, and Beartic shot an ice move at Icee.

She was running before it even registered, because her poor Eevee, was turned into a popsicle. Crying out in fear, she tried to get past Spencer who had put the Eevee on the ground, but her dark type held her steady.

"Bearrrrr. Tic. Arrrr." It growled, and with a blinding light, the symbols on the bear, and the ice cube of pokémon glowed brilliantly. So bright, she had to shield her eyes, and by the time she opened her eyes, Beartic was gone, and, a brilliant blue pokémon sat in Icee's place.

"Gla… Glace." It purred, and strutted towards Everest, who was still frozen, tears clung to her cheeks, and she dropped to the ground, hugging the Glaceon to her chest.

"Oh… Icee. You're okay! You were so brave." She was now a good foot and a half taller, and ice crystals were frozen on her body. Hugging her Eevee to her chest- no, her Glaceon to her chest, she examined the markings on her pokémon. There were the normal patterns of a Glaceon on her fur. yes, Everest had studied that meticulously, so much that she could draw a Glaceon with her eyes closed. But, Icee, on the blue headpiece that formed naturally on the Eevee evolution, were small symbols, almost invisible unless you were this close. They were the same that decorated the Beartic.

"Damn." Damien breathed, and he came to sit beside them, petting the newly evolved pokémon, who was glad to have the attention. "So… was that everything? Cause I'm exhausted, and all that adrenaline, is literally gone now." The ground master groaned loudly, and Everest had to laugh.

The next morning, or at least, when the pair had woken up, they decided it was best to get moving. They accomplished their task of getting Icee to evolve, and along the way helped a few Pokémon. They weren't thrilled about the idea that they might be leaving other trapped pokémon in the caves, but, they were running out of revisions. As well as the fact of Icee. Sure, super cool how she evolved, but it couldn't be healthy, right? Getting frozen completely solid? No thanks. So, they needed to make their way up to the surface, which would take probably about five days at least.

Damien didn't want to catch a pokémon from here any more. After seeing all the destruction humans had already done, he wasn't about to contribute to the damage. He vowed that maybe someday he would return, or look elsewhere for the pokémon he wanted.

Icee now led them through the tunnels, not even a hint of chill affecting her, and Burn kept shooting small embers at the ice type, who surprised everyone, by twisting in a circle, almost in a dance, and then, there was a small rain cloud over Burn, dumping water on him.

"So, rain dance, huh?" Icee seemed pleased with herself, and continued to lead the way, meanwhile Burn had to be recalled.

Four days later, bones aching with chill, the trainers found the mouth of the cave. They felt like complete strangers to the prospect of actual natural warmth, nit just warmth stolen from Burn, and neither would ever mention the excited dance the two trainers did as they pulled off their coats. It was warm. Finally. Truly, it was still chilly outside, there was snow on the ground, but it felt like nothing compared to the deepest parts of the cavern, especially around that Beartic.

But, as they walked back to Dendemille, they saw heavy plumes of smoke rising in the distance.

 **AN: I want to thank all my lovely readers! You guys are so awesome! And a special thank you to those of you leaving reviews, you guys are wicked. Not gonna lie, I might have cried a little.**


	25. The Ruins of Dendemille

They ran as fast as their feet would carry them. The smoke was coming from a car just outside of town, its entire front end encased in ice, must have flipped half a dozen times from the look of the wear and tear of the metal. The entire top was torn, and Damien and Everest tried to ignore the bloodied shapes within the car.

"What the…" Stunned into silence, the pair walked into what looked like a war zone. All of their pokémon were out, and without command, they rushed to check for survivors.

Everest didn't think she had ever ran so fast in her life, even with her roller skates on, she wasn't fast enough. She barely saw Damien fly past her on his own skates, down the sidewalk, trying to get to their destination. Dendemille. As they grew closer to the city, they slowed down, and Everest didn't bother holding back tears.

"Spence. Try… try to thaw him out." Everest fell to her knees, looking at the frozen man. She couldn't tell most of his features, as the ice was too disorientating, but, it was clear, there was a human within the ice. Frozen. The Zoroark obeyed, and began a light dusting with flamethrower, or, light for a powerful move like Flamethrower. As it melted, her hope faded, until the poor man was lying on the street, unmoving and pale. In a last ditch effort, she moved his head, feeing for a pulse she already knew wouldn't be there.

"Come on. Maybe it isn't too late." Damien breathed, his hand on Everest's shoulder, and slowly, she stood up. They ran to the city, the middle of the city, but with a little less hope in their hearts. Especially as they ran past the giant R scorched into the earth. Team Rocket.

**ESISB**

"Hi, I'm not sure if all of my fellow citizens of Kalos know me, but, my name is Diantha." Everest frowned at the television screen, shivering in her seat. Damien sat beside her, warming up his hands with a cup of hot tea. Burn sat on her lap, she gladly pet the warm fur. "I am the champion of this region, and I would like to make an official statement of what happened in Dendemille Town." A stack of note cards were obvious on the podium she spoke at, lights were flashing as the reporters caught pictures of the champion.

The few people in the center stopped and watched the screen, silently waiting for her to tell them how she was going to fix this mess, because it was much more than a disaster. It was horrifying. The streets filled with ice, people frozen solid, others impaled by falling ice.

"Three days ago, a couple travelers came upon the small town. It was encased in ice, killing all of the people currently residing there, bringing the death toll to a very frightening number, 284." Spencer sat at the door of the center, standing guard in case anyone decided to return. "There were no survivors to give us the estimate of how many wild pokémon invaded the town, but according to pokémon specialists, they were angered by the noise the windmills created." A heavy weight sunk in her stomach, no way.

"Don't tell me-" Damien breathed, clutching the side of the table.

"This was not an act of terrorism, instead it is due to human encroachment onto the powerful pokémon residing in the Frost Caverns. As a peaceful species, we humans need to reconsider our effect on natural habitats of our fellow creatures." The champion gestured to the Gardevoir beside her. "Now for questions. Yes, you there in the hat."

"What about the rumors that this is because of Team Rocket?" A male reporter asked, and a disapproving glare came from Diantha before she straightened up and smiled brightly. "Not to worry, the Elite Four and I have been very busy defending our region from the Rockets, and they are simply not a threat to us. They are only in regions not powerful enough to fight them off. But, with our amazing infrastructure and powerful trainers, such as yourselves, we are protected by every citizen standing amongst us. There are no Rockets in Kalos. Next question?"

Everest slammed her fist down on the table, sniffling back a sob. Tears poured out of her eyes. How could someone so strong be so ridiculous? Damien seemed to agree, as he angrily pushed the tea cup out of the way before storming off. After that, the TV seemed to fade out of existence.

"Don't worry Burn, we'll show everyone how dangerous she is, how dangerous they all are." It was true, they would. Everest and Damien, as well as their pokémon, plus allies they pick up long the way. They were going to show them all, they will take the world by storm. But, that was still a ways away, some time from now. And that gives Team Rocket plenty of room to cause more destruction.

**ESISB**

"That's where all the ice pokémon went. The Rockets." Everest and Damien were still in shock, or at least, it felt like what she guessed shock was. This was so much worse than everything. Everything she had seen. All the atrocities, the death, the abuse. It made her sick to her stomach, and across the room, Damien wasn't doing well either. Perhaps before her adventure, she might have questioned why Damien was crying silently into Ezra's flank. Or, as well as you could with a Vibrava. But his pokémon around him were comforting him, just like Everest's were. "They collected them, for an attack on Dendemille." She briefly wondered what might have happened if they had managed to catch that huge Beartic. If it was released on the world, under how ever Team Rocket controlled them… Dendemille most likely wouldn't have been the only casualty.

A sudden knock came from the door to their room. This was their last night in the pokémon center before they were going to leave this dead town. Damien was the first to gather enough strength to stand and answer the door. Drac was draped over his back, finally free of the bandages, and in a very protective mood it seemed. And, no one found it a surprise.

When the to-be ground-type expert opened the door, he opened it wide enough for Everest to see who was behind the door. At the sight of the familiar man, she stood, and Spencer was wrapped around her as an Eevee, with her other pokémon trailing behind her.

"Hey there." The ranger sounded tired and stressed, but, so was everyone else. This was who responded to their call, for rangers come in to investigate. Pokémon Ranger Howe. "I know it's late, but, I have a favor to ask." Too tired to even question it, they both nodded, and the ranger sighed, before searching his pockets, before revealing a pokéball.

"I told you before dude. Drac isn't a good trade, he'll make you go deaf." Damien chuckled, and like that, the mood was improved, if only just barely.

"As much as I like your Gligar, it isn't a trade. You both are powerful trainers. Hell, you have a dragon under control." Howe began, eyeing the Vibrava wearily, but Ezra wasn't gonna hurt anyone. "And, to top it all off, you train ground types. Our research team really should keep an eye on the ice population around here. Making sure whatever the Rockets used on them won't reactivate." The wild pokémon for the most part had retuned to their natural habitats. At least the living ones had. Or wandered into the forest and would make it back to the cave eventually. But… what was Howe getting at? "This pokémon, it was found trapped in a convenience store. Must have scented food and went there, instead of a full blown attack. But, since Diantha has ruled it an accident, the research labs can't fund a project to keep an eye on pokémon. Like this little guy." Stomach churning, Everest wanted to puke again. Their scientists couldn't even monitor them? She was shaken, as she watched Howe speak directly to Damien. "I need you to train this Swinub, and if something happens, report back to me."

Damien took the ball carefully, eyes wide as he looked down at what held part of the destruction of Dendemille. They didn't blame the pokémon, of course they didn't. It hadn't been their fault, the Rockets somehow corrupted them. But… holding one, having one of them? That was terrifying.

"I understand if you don't want the respon-" Damien held up his hand, looking one last time over the pokéball.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on it. And besides, before all of this happened, I wanted a Swinub anyways." With that, Damien accepted the Pig Pokémon. It wasn't a lie, Damien had wanted a Swinub since he first saw their Pdex entry. And, this little one was going to blow his expectations out of the water.

 **/AN: How is everyone? I know the last few chapters have been exceedingly dark, but it will be okay and turn around in the near future. And also a note on Icee and her evolution. I am aware that isn't how Eevee actually evolve into Glaceon, but I thought that this was a cool difference. For the universe, I would say that Icee was an exception, and the other Glaceon in the world would have had to find the Ice Rock in the caverns. Thank you! -Zoroark**


	26. Route 17

"You're planning on traveling through Route 17?" Howe asked, after giving both kids a thermos. It was the day after Damien had received a Swinub, and the trainers were itching to get out of Dendemille. The route laid just ahead to the east, and even deeper snow was ahead.

"It's the best way to Anistar. And, thats where we're going next." Everest explained, she hugged the coat tighter to her body. Beside her, Icee yipped in agreement, nuzzling her trainer.

"It's a tough terrain. Almost impossible without having a Mamoswine to ride." There were stables behind them, which were huge. But, they laid in ruins. "Dendemille had rented out friendly Mamoswine to travelers. In order to get over the mountain, its best to take advantage of their abilities. But, after everything… there aren't any. I would recommend that you hold off on your trip to Anistar." The ranger watched the two children worriedly, they may have been able to survive up until this point, but there's a time that will come that they won't be lucky like this.

Damien and Everest shared a look, seemingly able to communicate without even speaking. The boy turned to Howe, a determined look on his face, and the ranger couldn't deny that he expected them to go on with it anyways.

"We can't let Team Rocket stop us, whether or not it was their goal. We need to get to Anistar so we can challenge the gym." On instinct, his hand went to the pokéballs. He already was weak enough that he could have lost them all. Never again. "We have to keep getting stronger and stronger."

"Well… I know I can't stop you. But, when you do get to the League, after all eight badges, wake the Champion up, would you?" Howe gave the pair a soft smile, before grabbing something from one of his many pockets. "Here, it isn't much, but I hope it will keep you safe." Everest was handed a something wrapped in a silk cloth. If she didn't have three layers of gloves on, she would be amazed at the texture of the cloth.

Carefully, she undid the tight folding around the item, and it fell away to reveal a dark black colored glass. It was clearly hand blown, and it was truly beautiful. Her fingers hovered over the small holes on the base of the jug-like item. The main part was round, and it took both hands to carefully hold it. Where her fingers naturally laid, there were small holes, and in the top of it, a much larger spot.

"Black Flutes. Made from volcanic ash. They will help keep some of the wild pokémon away from you. You'll be battling the elements, you won't have energy for a lot of battles either." Howe explained, and Everest looked over the flute in amazement.

"Thank you so much, for everything Ranger Howe." Damien echoed her thoughts, and the pair pulled the layers closer to their bodies. "We'll give you a call once we make it to Anistar."

**DEDRS**

This mountain was no joke. And, after this, if Everest suggested taking this route back, Damien was thinking he might have to strangle his companion. For sure, this was the best idea, they needed to take this way. They couldn't waste time. But… this was ridiculous.

"Aright Eve. I'm gonna let out my Swinub! I need to start a trusting relationship with him." Damien shouted over the roar of the wind. Everest gave him a nod, and Icee walked beside her, and Damien had no doubt that the newly evolved Glaceon could help him keep the Swinub under control. "Let's go, Swinub." A crimson light flashed brilliantly against the snow, and revealed a brown lump of fur. Immediately, Damien's stomach clenched as he gazed at the pokémon.

He hadn't had a chance to meet it yet, he had decided back in Dendemille that they would first expose him in a familiar environment. So, he certainly wasn't expecting what he found. The normally fat lump of fur, was sickly skinny. His pink nose was pushed into the snow, searching for something to eat, and faster than he even knew possible, Damien had a container of pokémon food out.

"Hey there little guy." Cooing lowly, his brown bundle of fur seemed scared of Damien, and he had no doubt if the pokémon was any less hungry, it would have hid instead of take the food. So, against his better judgement for his clothes, the trainer sat down on the ground, and offered the top of the food can, filled with food.

Swinub munched it down hungrily, barely taking a chance to breathe, and Damien took the chance to make eye contact with his friend. Starvation and manipulation of the pokémon. Woo, Rockets deserved the humanitarians of the year award.

Everest watched their newest addition finish the food, and nuzzle the trainer. Actions surprised Everest and Damien, but they didn't have time to sit and gawk. If they were quick, they could make it over the mountain by nightfall, and they really didn't want to be up here when that happens.

She took that chance to take out the flute, which she was very thankful for. They didn't need to get stuck up here over night. Breathing in deeply, she hoped that which notes she played didn't matter, cause she had no idea what to do, Howe definitely didn't give them an instructions booklet.

As Everest played the flute, Icee walked right beside her, keeping a careful eye on the trainer as they trekked up the mountain, meanwhile, behind them, Damien held a small ball of fluff, talking to it, so maybe it would grow comfortable around humans once again.

 **AN: Yes, yes, I know, much shorter than usual, but the chapter for Anistar is going to be pretty long, so hold your horses! And also, in case any of you were wondering, no I don't own Pokémon, and I only own the plot line, as well as my characters. Have an amazing day! -Z**


	27. Anistar City

By the time the travelers had made it to Anistar City, the sun was setting, and they were just about frozen solid. By now, they had already chugged the delicious drink that Howe had given them, and twice had Burn nearly light them on fire. But, out in the open, the fire type wasn't so keen on being in the cold and wind, so he usually stayed in the pokéball for their trip.

"Looks like we're here." Everest sighed in relief, they came up to a sign, brandishing the city name and a big, 'WELCOME'. The path ahead suddenly turned to pavement, and was shoveled. Not to mention, there seemed to be significantly less snow here.

"Glace. Laaa." Icee cooed, seemingly happy to be where the snow didn't reach her stomach. It was odd, having her evolved, cause she was at least a foot taller than two weeks prior.

"Even Icee is ready to get out of these mountains." Smirk in his voice, Damien dragged Everest further, renewed with energy. It wasn't long before they came across a shrine.

It was below a sign. It pointed east, back towards the mountains. 'Dendemille, past route 17, sixteen miles east. Anistar, half a mile west.' And below the sign, candles and flowers were placed. Little trinkets were placed with care. A shirt that brandished Dendemille's name was placed carefully among the flowers.

"Word spreads fast I suppose." Damien sighed, and they took a moment to look over the shrine. There were over a hundred small candles, and Everest had a feeling there were 284 exactly. The candles were all different, clearly Anistar brought this together as soon as possible. There even was an offering plate out, with Oran berry pits on it.

Offering plates were common in graveyards or in accidents, anywhere there may be lingering spirits. So when ghost Pokémon appeared, people hoped that they wouldn't prank people with offerings such as these.

Considering it was empty, Everest dug a few berries from her pack, and placed them on the plate. Damien watched on silently, and they sat there for a few moments, trying not to let the horrible memories come back into the forefront of their minds.

"Phaaa." A small Pokémon peaked out from a bush. Its body was black, flowing in the slight breeze. It floated over the ground, staring at the trainers, but only went to the plate. "Tummm." It murmured, head tilted to the left as it watched the humans. Everest pulled out her Pdex, astounded at seeing a Pokémon she hadn't seen before.

"Phantump. The Stump Pokémon. These Pokémon are created when spirits posses dead tree stumps. They prefer to live in abandoned forests." The little thing, a Phantump, waved a small paw in greeting.

"Hey there. Are you lost?" Damien greeted, and it floated over to the plate. Smaller ghosts usually traveled in packs, and none others were visible. The Nanab berry was bigger than the Pokémon, but it didn't seem to mind. Instead, in a green glow, the berry was split.

"Pha." It continued to babble, before giving a half to Icee. Everest watched their interaction, a little surprised. Ghost Pokémon were supposedly dangerous and unkind. Sure, they had run into those Litwick and Lampent. But to find so many friendly ghost Pokémon?

Phantump ate it unusually fast, in one second, before it called out happily. The bark that made up its head was dark, and had a few twigs growing out of it. Floating close up to Everest, it touched her cheek.

" _They want to thank you for trying to help them._ " Staring in shock, the Pokémon tapped Damien's cheek as well, probably passing on the same message. And, it was gone.

**ESIBS**

By the time they made it to the Pokémon center, night had fallen, past midnight. Dead on their feet, they barely talked with Nurse Joy before taking the key and crashing. It certainly was a long walk, even if it had been one of the shortest Routes they used.

The room was slowly getting more and more full compared to the first room Everest had in a Pokémon center. The trainers each took one bed, and their Pokémon were laid out around them. Everest used Spencer as a pillow, Icee was on top of the blanket against her back, and Burn on her front, balancing out the other's temperature. Shawn was curled into Burn's fur.

On the other side of the room, Damien was passed out, Swinub was atop his form, snoring lightly. Reina was near his feet, careful about poison spikes. Ezra was perched atop his chest, and Drac, being nocturnal was busy watching out the window, protecting the humans.

**DEDRS**

The next morning found them in the middle of town, eating at a café, appreciative of freshly baked bread. They were busy trying to plan out their gym battles to busy to notice someone approaching them.

"And, you must be the strangers." Shawn was dozing on the table, and he blearily blinked open to make sure his trainer was okay. The trainers were much quicker to respond. Standing beside them, a very tall woman looked over them carefully, her purple hair swirled around her head, star shaped earrings hung almost to her shoulders, and a long white cape wa swept out behind her.

"Oh! You're Olympia!" Everest said, her voice full of awe as she looked at the powerful psychic. Damien's eyes widened, and immediately pulled another chair out for the gym leader to join them. "It is very nice to meet you." Olympia was a lot different than the other gym leaders that Everest had met, there was a certain air of wisdom from her. "And, if you don't mind me asking, what do you mean, strangers?"

"There are rumors going around that two trainers had wandered into town last night, but they weren't seen on Route 18, so must have snuck in." There was an uneasy look sent between the two teens, before they decided.

"Well, we actually came from 17. From Dendemille." And, it all clicked for the psychic, although, she was expec ting older trainers.

"It is nice to meet you as well. I've heard of you both." After pulling her cape to the side, she sat down, a chair between a very confused Damien and Everest. Before she elaborated, Olympia regarded the Eevee that sat atop the table. Most of its ears were torn and didn't stand up, along with scars along the small furry body. "The rangers speak highly of your heroism, and Professor Sycamore likes you even more." The gym leader thought back to the reports.

She had personally asked for reports regarding anything Rocket a few months ago, and it didn't take long for a new trainer to begin popping up in reports. And this must have been her. Everest, as well as a new companion, Damien. They both showed true promise and heart.

They were the ones that had found Dendemille.

"Oh, did they? Well, I'm Everest, and this is Damien." Surprise laced her voice, and at the change of tone, Shawn quietly nuzzled Everest. Jumping to her lap, and curling up. "And this is Shawn." She nodded slowly, knowing why they were here.

"It would be a smart move to prepare my Pokémon for a battle, no? That is why you're here, correct?" Before even giving them a chance to answer, she stood up, and began to walk away, only calling over her shoulder as an afterthought. "Come in two hours." Mentally, she began to think over her battle plan. If she was to do her part, then. She would need to truly challenge Everest in a way that hadn't before. Olympia regarded the different outcomes of the girl's future, only one would prevent Kalos from destruction.

**ESIBS**

"Do you think that she's really psychic? Like, she knows what moves we will use?" They stood outside of the gym. Shawn stood next to Everest, and the Swinub was next to Damien. They had decided to let the ice-ground type walk around with them, in hopes that it would grow accustomed to humans once more, and be healthy. So far, he squeaked and hid behind Damien every time a human walked too close.

"Not sure Ev. Even in Unova, I've heard about the mystical powers of Olympia. If she knows ahead of time what we're going to do... we may have to come back later on, when we're more powerful." Shawn sat looked up at Everest, cooing, trying to calm her. Her remaining Eevee had the silk scarf on, her two badges were pinned and shown off.

"You're right Shawn. We've beat gym leaders before... how hard is this going to be?" Voice a tad shaky, Everest took a deep breath, banishing the nervousness, and opened the door.

 **AN: Okayyyy sorry! I wanted to get you guys a new chapter ASAP, so I separated the gym battle from meeting Olympia. But... it's coming together! I want to know how you guys feel about going up of order with the gym battles, as well as chosen Pokémon for the trainers. Thank you for reviews, favorites, and follows! -Z**


	28. Anistar Gym

The moment they walked in, the two Trainers were welcomed by a man in a gym uniform. The shape of the Psychic badge was on his chest and hat, and his clipboard in hand matched the wall color.

"Hello there. You two must be Everest and Damien?" Drac screeched in agreement, flapping his wings excitedly. Oh yeah, Nurse Joy had finally cleared the Pokémon to stop wearing the bandages, and is also able to fly again. Which means that their hearing was in jeopardy once more. "Very lively Gligar you have there." The man chuckled before pointing behind him. "Olympia is expecting you." The group moved forward, excitement burning in their veins.

The Pokémon felt similar emotions, even their newest member. Swinub was following obediently, and interested in what was going to happen. Damien had told his ice-type that he could watch them battle this time around. Shawn was quiet, as usual, and Drac was... well Drac was Drac. The moment they stepped into the arena, the purple Pokémon took off into the air, swooping around the open space, screeching what could have passed as a battle cry.

"Greetings challengers. Please step up and select one Pokémon." Olympia teleported to the other side of the gym, an Abra beside her. But... what was happening? Shouldn't one of them go first? "This is no normal battle. This is a gym battle made to test your skills, so, we will have a battle of four v. four Pokémon. Two each of yours, and my four. You will need to work as a team to defeat me."

This threw all of their preparations in the trash... but, since when were they ever able to prepare for most of their battles? Damien grinned and held up a Pokéball that had a couple teeth marks on it.

"Well, we accept your challenge!" Damien shouted excitedly, and he carefully pointed to the only normal pokéball on Everest's belt. What was he planning?

"Excellent. My assistant will be the official. But, rules are, no exchanging Pokémon until they are unable to fight. First team to run out of useable Pokémon looses. I will reveal my partners first, you will be able to attack first." Olympia tossed two out, and revealed their opponents.

The first was a pink creature, standing on its two back legs. The mouth was yellow, and a wise looking Pokémon held Everest's gaze, sizing her up. Red and white ruffled fabric hung around its neck, a white crownlike shell atop its head.

The other was shorter, mainly a blue body, a few ruffles of its fur was white. Big, green eyes stared back, blue and white ears folded down over its forehead. This one too stood on hind legs, and its magnificent tail flowed out behind it.

"A Slowking and a Meowstic." Damien murmured loud enough for Everest to hear. She nodded, okay, they expected this much. Two psychic types, one was also a water type. The water wouldn't do well for Damien's ground Pokémon, and psychic made Reina even less powerful. So, he would have to pick the lesser of two evils. "Alright Ezra! Let's take these guys down." In a flash of red light, a Vibrava appeared.

All the possibilities flooded Everest's mind, but on the forefront was the fact that all of her Pokémon were subject to ground moves. Unless... So, that was what Damien was implying.

"Come on out, Fletchinder." Grinning, she nearly cheered in happiness as her friend didn't take the form of a dark type, instead was soaring as a flying type. For the moment, they were at an advantage, both in the air, their opponents would either have to get in close, or use long-distance attacks.

"Ezra, fly to the middle of the battle field and use earthquake." The flying Pokémon were circling the field, and the psychic team was watching wearily. Vibrava were fast, and _very_ quickly, a streak of yellow and orange dive bombed the field.

Even behind protective barriers, Everest felt the ground shake, and in a few seconds, Ezra was back up in the air. Earthquake left the field in disarray, pieces of earth had uprooted themselves, leaving the ground uneven. However, Slowking didn't look damaged at all, and Meowstic was only a little worse.

"You'll have to do more than Earthquake to bring my Pokémon down. Helping Hand and Psychic." Everest swore under her breath, not needing a super powerful... psychic move.

"Spence, protect Ezra!"

"Use Rock slide!" They shouted at the same time, but neither had trouble understanding. Spencer flew in front of Ezra, wings spread wide, acting as a shield. The now disturbed ground allowed for a move like rock slide, and the rocks began throwing themselves around the field.

The rainbow beam hit Spencer, and burst into sparks, but clearly had no effect on her. Meowstic was running around frantically, trying to avoid getting smashed, while Slowking was fending off rocks with Psychic.

"Aerial ace."Everest tried to suppress her grin as her friend tapped into her speed, and took off faster than almost Ezra.

"Keep up that rock slide." It was a great distraction, as the other Pokémon could get enough concentration to create powerful attacks.

"Enough, yawn on Fletchinder!" The Slowking was much too slow to be able to dodge, but that didn't mean that it couldn't land a hit. Spencer couldn't change course, and Everest didn't have enough time to shout a counter before Slowking yawned right as Spencer hit her target, wings glowing. Cringing, the trainers watched as Slowking was knocked out, at the same time, dropping a rock that had been held up by psychic. And Spencer was flailing, trying to stay awake.

"Ezra, go snatch Spencer!" And, that gave Olympia time to send it out her next Pokémon. This one was released into the air, no doubt trying to counteract Ezra's ground moves. It bobbed up and down in the air, antler-like wings coming from its head, flapping. The antlers were yellow, blue, and pink, while the main body was black and green. Whatever it was, Olympia had something up her sleeve.

Ezra now was in the air, Spencer in his claws as he flew, awaiting directions. Everest's hand was twitching, she needed Spencer to wake up! Like now!

"Rock Slide!" While ground moves wouldn't do anything against one of Olympia's pokémon, rock could damage both. The rocks began swirling again, knocking Meowstic a couple times.

"Reflect." And, there was no avoiding that one. A pink screen of energy came up between Olympia's Pokémon, and the boulders, and when they made contact with the shield, they bounced back at Ezra and Spencer, a move that is impossible to dodge.

A sickening crunch followed the impacts and both trainers cringed, especially as Spencer shifted to her normal form, recalling their Pokémon. The battle field now laid in ruin. Meowstic was battered, but still up, and the mystery Pokémon didn't look any worse for wear. Fantastic.

"It was a nice attempt. But you need more than a couple of flying Pokémon to beat me. What else do you have?" It was a good question... what else did she have? Icee wasn't comfortable yet with her new moves and body. Burn... he could work, but he would be weak to any of Drac's moves.

"Eee." And Shawn jumped forward, his ears hung loose at the side of his head, but, he looked a lot more confident than he usually did.

"Alright, I choose you Shawn!" He might not have the best move pool, but she could work with it.

"Please don't let me regret this." Damien whispered, and with another loud screech, Drac used Damien as a spring board.

They needed to get their numbers even again, and Everest knew just how to do it. Meowstic was clearly about to fall over, and would only need a little push.

"Quick attack on Meowstic." Shawn's ears perked up, before falling to the side again, and he was off.

"Distract the other one with X-scissor!" Drac was definitely doing well to distract it, diving and screeching loudly, hitting the opponent with a green glow. Meowstic on the other hand was trying to climb up a rock to get the higher ground.

"Don't let it get up there Shawn! Remember training with Burn!" Seemed to do the trick, Shawn launched himself up the rock, using his tail to balance himself. Even pre-evolved Shawn could outrun her Flareon, if motivated enough.

"Light screen!" Olympia shouted, but it was too late, Shawn knocked the Meowth-like pokémon off of the rock, where it lay unconscious. The tall gym leader recalled her Meowstic with a smile. "Sigilyph, use air slash!"

So that must have been what the other pokémon was called. It began flapping its wing/antler things at an even faster pace, increasing the wind around them. Now, had Drac been a normal Gligar, Everest suspected that might have been a problem. But, considering how long they were in the desert were there always was a sandstorm, this isn't even effect Drac.

"Meowstic, future sight." Olympia threw another pokémon out, and yet another Meowstic appeared, this time, the female form.

"Keep using X-scissor Drac, weave in and out of the rafters." It was a good plan, Drac had the more serious attacks, but well out of range, and Shawn was almost too fast for them to attack.

"That's right keep up Quick Attack!" The eevee was light on his feet, tackling the psychic types from time to time, keeping their attention focused on Shawn so they couldn't protect themselves from X-scissor. By making the two Meowstic focus on both enemies, Shawn couldn't be over powered. Olympia couldn't get her partners to land many blows. Shawn got hit once with a dark pulse, and Drac got two psyshocks, but they were holding steady.

"Poison Sting!" And, in a purple blur, Drac dove straight down, sticking his stinger right into the male's side. A pained 'meow' followed, and it fell to the ground.

"Not over just yet!" Olympia grinned and recalled her pokémon. Then, as if she knew, and perhaps she did, a dark energy ball came flying in from nowhere, and crashed into Drac.

"Drac!" Lying there in the dirt, was a passed out Drac, leaving Shawn and the female Meowstic on the field. Everest didn't pay attention to her friend recalling Drac, instead she watched her opponent. Shawn was panting, but his tail was swaying from side to side. He was still okay to go on.

"On my mark Shawn." Breathing out, she needed every advantage she could get. Not only her own badge was riding on this, but so was Damien's. Shawn vs. Meowstic. Shawn would hear her, she was sure of it. "Tail whip, then quick attack, but fake to the left." And, Shawn shot off.

"Thunder wave." She froze, unable to even think. If that landed, then it would be over. Shawn vaulted over the yellow wave, and landed gracefully, going straight into a tail whip. Meowstic faltered, staring at Shawn confused, before her Eevee continued running. As if racing the wind, Shawn made a dive for the left, and Meowstic tried to dodge, just in time for Shawn to switch directions, and tackle it.

There was silence.

"Meowstic is unable to battle! Which means the challengers, Everest and Damien win!" Everest ran out onto the field, and picked up Shawn carefully, grinning like a fool.

"That was amazing Shawn!" Petting him, she accepted small licks to her cheek, before turning to grin madly at Damien, who mirrored her look. "We did it Damien!"

"You both did amazingly well. I will admit, I didn't think that an unevolved Eevee would be able to take on my Pokémon." Olympia appeared next to them, smiling softly, and held out two badges. "You and your teams deserve these."

**ESIBS**

Olympia was just returning to her house after a late dinner with her challengers, when the vision came.

 _A girl stood frozen, looking out over a battle field. There, locked in a battle, was a Zoroark and a Gardevoir. They both looked weary, about to fall over. And then, the Gardevoir changed shape, became bigger and even more powerful._

 _"Give up girly. This is my stage, not yours. Now, get the fuck out of my region. You're a waste of my time." The dark Pokémon was knocked to the side, and a deafening roar came from the crowd._

 _"And there you have it folks! Zoroark is unable to battle, so our Champion is of course, Diantha!"_

Olympia awoke, breathing hard and eyes wide. What was that? Everest was their only chance. It couldn't be hopeless right? Just to make sure, she brushed off the anxiety, and picked up her league communicator. Typing in a familiar number, it rang, picking up not a moment later,

"Clemont. This is Olympia. You've battled a trainer named Everest, correct?"


	29. Route 18

**AN: I want to thank you all for all the favorites and follows! You guys are awesome! But, I would like to know what you guys think about my update schedule. I've been trying to update every 2 out of 3 days, and usually about 1.5-2k words per chapter. I was wondering what you guys thought. I put a poll up on my profile, if you have time, please try and respond if you have time.**

Everest and Damien were smiling. Probably for the first time in awhile. Earlier that morning, they left Anistar. It wasn't often that they came across performers, and, today just happened to be one of those days.

They had been walking along, Swinub was scooting around on the ground, sniffing something. Meanwhile, Damien and Everest were content discussing possible Eevee evolutions, mainly for Shawn's sake. However, they heard yelling from off of the path.

"Come one, come all! And witness, the amazing, astounding feats of Greenie and Petals!" Curious, Everest and Damien shared a look before leaving the path for the woods. It wasn't deep in the forest, that they found the announcer.

There was a girl there, her brown hair reached all the way down to her waist. Facing away from the pair, Everest could only observe so much. She had a huge, silver top hat on her head, tilted to the left, clearly too big, but it made her look interesting. She had a tight dark-blue dress hanging on her, but it looked kind of steam punk, with different potions hanging off of her waist. It was tight across her torso, and at the waist it flared out, coming off of her in waves.

Watching on in amazement, the girl nodded to the Sewaddle on the ground, who shot a single string of webbing across two trees. The string hung about 20 feet in the air, and they watched amazed as the girl threw a Petil in the air. It landed gracefully on the line, not wobbling what-so-ever.

"Now watch in amazement, as Petals can complete the walk, even with a strong silver wind." As promised, the small grass type walked gracefully across the web as her Sewaddle blew the sparkles of Silver wind against the pokémon. It didn't take long for the Pokémon to finish, before jumping off directly into the girl's hands.

"Nice! That was so cool!" Everest found herself clapping for the stranger, who turned to greet the newcomers. Her eyes were wide with surprise, a blush on her cheeks.

"I agree. Your Petil must be pretty strong to be able to do that." Damien agreed, and they walked closer to the girl. Damien outstretched his hand in greeting. "My name is Damien, and this is Everest. We heard you fro the path, and wanted to see." He explained fluidly, and her cheeks burned even brighter after she shook Damien's hand, and held out hers for Everest.

"Oh, it's nothing special really. My name is Maty." Her brown hair covered one eye, on her shoulder, her Sewaddle was sizing up Damien. In one hand, she held a silver staff with a purple gem at the top. In her other, she supported Petil's weight. "We're trying to introduce a new kind of performance, one where you don't have to perform for ribbons. Just for fun." Maty explained.

"Well, I think that sounds pretty cool. And, judging by what we saw here, I think you totally have a chance!" It was true, the the girl looked so natural at it while she commanded her pokémon with ease. Joined with the fact that they followed every word, that certainly helped a lot too.

"Thank you! That means a lot! We've got a long ways to go though, don't we guys?" Petil squeaked in agreement, while Sewaddle started to pout. Chuckling at the attitude, Everest couldn't help but be reminded of her own snarky friends.

"There's always room for improvement. Come on out Icee." In a flurry of ice and snow, her recently evolved Eevee appeared, looking at the newest human curiously. "This is one of my pokémon. So, do you have any others?" Maty nodded, a grin on her face, and she called out her other pokémon.

"This one is B. He's the evolved version of Froakie, Frogadeir." She smiled proudly, hands at her hips, and the trainers watched in amusement as B followed her posture, and did the same.

"So, are you collecting all the gym badges? Or, doing showcases?" Even if she was trying a new thing, didn't mean she wasn't doing normal competitions, otherwise, why would she be in the middle of nowhere?

"A bit of both, wanna try my hand in everything. So far, I've only got one badge though." The girl took off her hat to show off the Iceberg Badge.

"Wow! You beat Snowbelle! I've heard that's one of the most difficult!" With new respect for the girl, Everest was surprised. Perhaps she and Damien could beat it as well.

"Well, honestly, B and I got lucky. We were about to loose, for the second time in fact, when suddenly, he evolved! Mainly running on adrenaline that we won." Maty shrugged, but had a mischievous look on her face. "So I suppose that means we're gonna be rivals now?"

"Of course! We're going to Snowbelle next. You must be headed to Anistar then?" Damien sounded so proud and excited, they couldn't be the only ones in the running after all.

"Yep. Olympia won't know what hit her with Greeny on my side." Said Sewaddle was currently chewing on her hat, but she ignored it, before she pulled out her Pdex. "Don't suppose I could get your numbers? It's been a lonely road." Everest nodded excitedly and took out her own, hoping that it would cooperate.

**ESIBS**

All the way across the region, there was a secret meeting being held. Each person present had come up with an excuse as to why they needed to be absent for a day, and it was hidden knowledge. No one needed to know that all eight gym leaders, as well as all of the Elite Four had gathered in one spot.

They were definitely an odd group, one that you would never expect to see in public all together. They were all so different, but, they had a couple things in common. The main one? They all were well aware that Kalos was falling apart.

"This is all ridiculous!" Siebold snapped, hands hitting the table as he stood up, his normally calm demeanor was gone. "Her incompetence has costed the lives of all of Dendemille."

"We all know that! It isn't her ability in question! It's what we are going to do about it!" Valerie's high pitched voice cut through the room like a knife, her stare a challenge for anyone to argue.

"This is just another test for us, another wall to get over. It will be a challenge, but we will persevere." Grant cut in, waving his hand.

"We don't need a stupid metaphor right now! We need a solution! None of us are powerful enough to beat Diantha!" Korrina yelled, bristling in anger. Her usual helmet and skates were gone, in its place were a more formal attire.

"Please. Friends. Yelling isn't helping. I have a solution, that is why I called you all here today." Olympia stood above the angry group, and, they all calmed, ready to listen. "Viola, Clement, and I have all been challenged by a trainer, her name is Everest. I've had visions of her battling with Diantha. She has great promise, and has only just started." The woman began, pulling up an image of the girl. She may or may not have taken pictures of the girl during their battle.

"Isn't she one of the trainers who discovered Dendemille?" Drasna asked, suddenly a part of the conversation. Leaning forward, she tried to remember what the Ranger reports said.

"Yes, she and her traveling companion crossed over route 17 in one night, without Mamoswine." That drew all of their attention. That wasn't something to ignore.

"So, what do you recommend, Olympia? We allow a small child fight our battles for us?" Malva sneered. That wouldn't look good either? Right?

"No, that is good, imagine the headlines. New trainer defeats champion. That would draw everyone's attention!" Clemont murmured excitedly.

"If we were to just happen to go out of our way to help her, we could hurry the process a bit. Not to mention, she's been targeted by team Rocket, she's already defeated them once. She's powerful, new trainer or not." Ramos' wise voice cut in, and quiet murmurs of agreement went up.

"But, do you truly believe she's that powerful Olympia? We don't have years to waste trying to train her up. If we have better chances to try and get a Legendary-" Malva began, and didn't take long for her to be cut off.

"Not this again Malva. We are not capturing a Legendary!" Siebold frowned, sneering. It was an awful plan, not only would they be trying to capture an uncontrollable entity, but when it turned its anger back on the humans, they could be in an even worse situation than before.

"I truly believe that this is the best way. She's powerful, and not only that, but she cares deeply for her pokémon. She has a pokémon in her care that was abused and tortured by a poacher. In her care, it has flourished." They all remained silent, letting the past few years events fall over them. How exactly had they let this happen?

These were supposed to be the protectors of Kalos, and… now? They were depending on a new trainer. But, there was hope in their hearts where there hadn't been for a long time.

**DEDRS**

"If I ever see another Durant, it will be too soon."After talking with Maty for awhile, they had parted ways, promising to keep in touch. After that, it was a three day walk to the next town, through a Durant infested route, which were dangerous when angered, which led to many long runs under the sun, trying to get away from them. And finally, Couriway Town was in sight.


	30. Couriway Town

**Couriway Town**

"Would you look at this place." Everest smiled, her arms spread as they gazed upon the newest sights. "Do you think the Rockets have been through here yet?" Above them, a track was laid for some sort of travel plan, surely they would find out when they talked with some of the residents. Couriway didn't have a gym. They were too small, and protected to the north and south by gym leaders. So, the 'town connecting differences' was just going to be a walk through. A good time to fuel up, and perhaps get some training done. For sure Damien and his Swinub needed some work.

"If they have, they certainly didn't find anything worth stealing. We would know about that. We would see it." Dendemille. It was an awful truth. But, it was true. The Rockets seemed to know that they could do whatever the hell they wanted, cause the Champion was out and about.

Taking in the scenery, the two trainers passed under the gateway. Walking along a river, they passed by a few houses before coming up on a Pokémon center. The citizens of the town waved or greeted the cheerfully, meanwhile Burn was running around, picking up different rocks.

"Burn, could you put those all back buddy? Then, you need a check up with Nurse Joy. We'll meet you inside?" Burn barked happily, before running off to the other flower beds.

"You created a monster. I hope you know that." Damien smirked before heading inside, ignoring him, Everest followed with one last look behind her to make sure Burn was following directions.

"Hi there." The Nurse Joy of Couriway greeted, before giving a friendly wave. "You must be trainers. Need a check up?"

"You read my mind. Yes please, and if you have a room available, that as well." Damien and Everest each took out their pokéballs, but Damien kept the Swinub on him. Joy took the pokémon with a smile.

"Of course. I'll have a room cleaned up for you two. You're pokémon will be ready in a few hours. Feel free to use our battlefield, or go explore the town."

"Flare! Re re!" Burn came bounding in once more, something in his mouth, bringing a laugh from Damien and Everest.

"Alright boy. Give it here. You need a check up too." Obediently, her fire type dropped the rock in her hand, grinning goofily before hopping up on the counter. "We'll see you in a bit Burn, make sure every one else plays nice. Thank you Nurse Joy." She gave a glance over the center. Even if it was for the better of all of them, better for their health, she still felt uneasy leaving all her friends with strangers.

"Come on Ev. It's not forever." Damien dragged her outside, a little pain in his eyes. They both knew it was more than a stupid anxiety. They had been through hell, this was more than separation anxiety. "I need help with Swinub. Please." Sighing, Everest nodded, following the ground-type trainer to the battlefield. Luckily it was empty, and the trees around it provided shade. "Come on out Swinub."

While they had a few encounters together, Damien hadn't truly had a chance to just talk with his newest addition. It was still frightfully skinny, but, thankfully not as bad as before. The little thing whined in greeting, shaking as it was nervous.

"Hey there bud. I know we haven't had much of a chance to talk. But, my name is Damien." Everest stop aside, watching her friend confront the abused pokémon. Used as a weapon of mass destruction. Of course, they had yet to figure out how, but they would. They had to. "I'm sorry about those humans. The ones who made you do things. Who took you away from your home. And, I'm sorry that we did not let you return." The boy slowly reached out a hand, petting the brown fur. "But, we're fighting them. We want to stop them, before they do more like this. Will you help us?" With only a moment's hesitation, he walked forward, nudging his nose forward to rub against Damien.

"Well, all that's left is to pick a name." Nudging Damien none too gently, she grinned. That was much easier than anticipated. "Boy right?"

"Hm. How does Forage sound?" The rest of his speech melted away, as Everest looked down at her hand. Where the rock Burn had found laid. Except… this wasn't some rock.

She was laughing before it really processed through her mind. How the hell. It looked eerily similar to a certain rock that she and Icee found back in the Santalune Forest. How does he do this exactly? She rolled it in her hand, looking at the glittery gem. A Mega Stone. Did she even need this Dowsing Machine?

Sitting down, Everest opened her pack, and pulled out her communicator. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Damien working with Forage, getting to know the pokémon's moveset.

Pulling up her contacts, she grinned at her newest set of contacts. Olympia, Maty, Clemont, Howe. Quickly, she typed in Sycamore's name, immediately pressing call. She looked up, and laughed as Damien got a face full of Powder Snow.

"Everest! How nice to hear from you!" The professor's voice broke her from the joke, and she looked to the screen.

"Hey Professor! How's the research coming?" Wild black hair pointed to the fact that he probably hadn't slept in a couple days.

"It's going well! We've been researching non-stop on the information in Dendemille. Plenty of information to sift through. But, besides that, how are you two? We haven't had a chance to talk since Dendemille. How are you holding up? I know it must be a lot." His kind eyes met hers, reminding her that it wasn't all bad. She flipped the camera to focus on Damien.

"Well, Damien's making friends with Swinub. Named him Forage." Flipping the camera back to her, and then held up the marble. "And, take a look at what Burn found." His eyes grew wide, and got even closer to the camera.

"No way! As soon as you two get back to Lumiose, you have to let me examine it." Once again, eyes like a child's. She laughed.

"I promise professor. Now, can you tell me anything about the Snowbelle Gym? Or, what about the Rocket's current movements?" Pulling out her notebook, she was going to track down these stupid criminals. In fact, she would spend a lot of her life doing that, because they grew like weeds, survived like hydras.


	31. Route 19

**Oh boy, I cringed while I wrote this one, but I needed to do this for something coming up much later. You'll see, eventually. haha? She needs to stop getting hurt is my one comment on it. And, I forgot to mention this earluer, but my OC design for Maty was inspired by a prompt from Barbacar. Thank you all!**

Everest was officially impressed with Damien. After one day of training, he had already taught Forage the move Take Down. Which besides the fact that Damien taught Forage in one day, he also didn't have any other Pokémon who knew the move which would make the whole teaching process easier.

Now, they were one step closer to reaching Snowbelle city, the location of their next gym battle. Halfway through route 19, Forage and Icee were out of their pokéballs, walking beside their trainers. There was an odd sort of friendship between the ice types, as they got to know one another.

Route 19 was chilly, but nothing like what Frost Cavern was like. So, the two trainers walked together, joking lightly, and talking about their plans for Snowbelle.

"Well, I'm planning on using Burn, and then Spencer. They both have fire moves, so it should work well. Plus, I think they both are too motivated to go down without a fight." She grinned, Icee flicked her ear, probably in annoyance she wasn't battling, but, she would live. Besides, they only have recently begun working on her move pool, which was now Protect, Attract, Rain Dance, and hail. They weren't damaging moves, so they needed to work on that.

"Well, not Ezra, that wouldn't go well. And, well, Drac would be at a disadvantage too. So, what do you say Forage? You and Reina sound like a plan?" She was eager to see the fight. The newest member of their team definitely could do well, at least, it seemed like he could.

"Well, we can't base everything off of advantages and disadvantages you know." It was true, just because they might not win on paper, didn't mean it couldn't happen.

"I know." Damien conceded, nodding thoughtfully, before he checked his Pokédex. "It says here that some ghost types live on this Route, we should be careful, keep you eye out. We're still three days away from Snowbelle on foot." Even if they now have met some nice ghost types, she was still wary, they were one of the most, if not the most, dangerous type out there.

"Course." It was quiet after that, as they walked through the swamp area. There were a bunch of hills and cliffs, making it necessary to cross rope bridges at some point. And, just as they were getting ready to set up camp, a shiver rolled up Everest's spine. "Do you feel that?" It felt like they were being watched, and Everest slowly looked around, trying to see through the trees.

"No, what do you- get down!" Damien suddenly tackled Everest, and growls of anger came from their Pokémon as a woman came into the clearing.

As she hit the earth, the breath was knocked from her, but that was the least of her concerns. Ignoring the mud seeping into her clothes, she watched as a huge chunk of ice sailed right where her head had been.

Her hair was tied up, angry blue eyes looked at the pair. A Bergmite sat beside her, it must have just been the one to shoot an ice ball at them. A giant red R sat on her chest, and she was fuming.

"You stupid ice cube. Get them!" The Rocket yelled, pointing at Everest and Damien. Still coughing and fighting for breath, Everest tried to stand before releasing Spencer. It felt so awful, not being able to breathe, but she tried to fight through it. The Rocket's eyes grew as her gaze fell on Spencer. "Just my luck! You're those stupid kids, aren't ya?" And, the Rocket recalled her Pokémon, before taking off, running. Making a split decision, Everest took off, running after. Without asking, Icee and Spencer followed her lead, easily pulling ahead of their trainer.

"Get back here!" She had to know what they were planning, just as Spencer was catching up, a Gardevoir appeared in front of all stopped immediately, and Everest froze in place as the Pokémon opened its mouth releasing a pink shock wave.

She fell to her knees, trying to block the horrible noise, and she faintly noted that Icee had thrown up a protect shield, before it shattered, and the pain in her head increased. And, everything went black for a moment.

 _Blink_

Icee and Spencer sat above her, each nudging her with their cold noses. She tried to listen to their worried coos, but only could hear her ears ringing.

 _Blink_

Damien was above her too, shaking her shoulders, tears in his eyes. Mouth open in what she guessed was a scream.

 _Blink_

The sky was so beautiful right now, only a few clouds in the sky.

 _Blink. Darkness._

 _***ESIBS****_

Damien watched on in horror, it all happened in slow motion as Everest crumpled to the ground. Yelling in horror, he didn't even know what he was saying as he ran up to his friend. Icee and Spencer were already around their trainer, lapping at the blood coming out of her ears.

"Hey, Hey. Everest, stay with me." Her eyes met his for a moment before they closed. He didn't know what the hell that Gardevoir did, it looked like disarming voice, but he wasn't sure. Either way, it was not suited for humans to experience it. The Rocket, who was the true target of the attack was in worse shape than Everest, crumpled and face down on the ground.

"What are you kids doing here? You should know better than to get in the way of a Pokémon." He was still trying to get Everest awake, when a woman appeared in front of him. White dress, that somehow defied gravity, she stood with a posture that read 'this is a waste of my time'.

"You're Diantha." He breathed, before looking back down at Everest, this was worse than he thought, she just got hit with a move from a champion Pokémon. "You have to help me get her to a medic." She sneered, before looking over Everest.

"Fine. But it will be a long trip." Her tone said that she really didn't even want to help, but nonetheless, ordered her Gardevoir to pick up Everest, only to be stopped by a growl from Spencer.

"Let Spencer carry her. What's the fastest way there?"


	32. Snowbelle City

Someone was licking her hand. Judging by the temperature, it must have been Icee. Groaning, she tried to roll over, only to be stopped by some sort of cord wrapped around her.

"Hey, Everest. Shh. Stay still." The voice was quiet. Damien. Groaning, she tried to sit up, only to groan in pain, she had an awful headache. Cracking her eyes open, she was confused about where she was. It looked awfully familiar to the stupid Lumiose medical center. Then, she remembered. Stupid rockets, stupid wild Pokémon.

Strangely enough, there were a lot of people in her room. Damien sat next to her, Icee was curled up by her side, a very human looking Zoroark sat next to her bed on the other side, black hair with red hints, pokémon ears, and the rest of her outfit screamed Zoroark. She knew Spencer could take a human form, but this was unexpected.

Against the wall Professor Sycamore looked tired and worn. Next to him, a man with blonde hair sat, he was skinny and wore a white suit of some sort. Then, up against the left wall, another man stood, another stranger. He was big, tall, and intimidating. He had white hair and beard. He had a blue coat tied around his neck, arms crossed, his dark eyes looked over her, looking somewhat concerned.

"Ugh. Please tell me someone got the number of that Gardevoir." Mumbling, she placed a hand on her forehead. Spencer shot up, eyes wide, and threw her uncoordinated arms around Everest.

"It wasn't wild." The professor sighed as he stood, coming closer. She tried to process his words, but it made little sense.

"What do you mean?" Frowning, she turned to Damien, confused. Her companion had an angry look on his face.

"It was Diantha's. The champion failed to see by standers, as well failing to place restraints on her Pokémon power's." The big, buff guy spoke up, but just barely. You would think for such a big guy, his voice would be louder, and a shiver of disgust raced up her spine. Diantha. Her name kept coming up, like a scratched CD, and Spencer began growling even at the name, which was oddly comforting, even if she took on the disguise of a human.

"Spencer carried you all the way to Snowbelle. Faster than I could run. I showed up almost an entire day later, but, her natural form, the nurses didn't want her to take up all that room." Damien explained, voice shaking, and Everest just hugged her pokémon back. Her eyes traveled over her guests, they still had yet to introduce themselves.

"Everest, this is Siebold, of the Elite Four, and Wulfric, leader of Snowbelle city." The professor spoke up faintly, and her eyes widened. No way.

"Um… what are you doing here?… well, I didn't mean for it to sound rude but…" Trailing off, she didn't know what to say, and Spencer backed off, letting the trainer have some breathing room. Silently, she transformed into her normal form and laid in front of the door, protecting and standing guard no doubt.

Now that she knew their names, she could see the familiar faces that she had researched and heard of. Siebold, master of water types, Wulfric, master of ice. They both had an air of power around them, larger than life. Siebold's features turned into a slight grin.

"We've seen your promise, and, if it isn't too bold to ask, we need your help." The Elite Four? They were asking her for help? "Team Rocket. The Champion refuses to believe they are a problem that are worth her time. But, you know differently, as well as you have been seeking to change their rule, no?" The skinny man asked, holding up a picture of Dendemille, grin turning somber.

"The leaders, we've heard of your bravery, you as well as Damien. But, this is more than just taking on the Rockets." Wulfric began explaining, while Everest wanted to interrupt, to argue, but that would mean interupting a powerful trainer. "It's politics. A much as I hate to admit it. As gym leaders and Elite Four, we are too narrow minded. We have a single type as what we know, we are weak in that sense. Diantha has knowledge of us, our abilities, that she easily defeats us." The dots connected, but they didn't make much sense when all together. She didn't have an element heavy team, even Damien did. Most people did, it was the easy route to go, cause then you know what you're getting into. But, they couldn't be serious.

"Diantha won't expect much from you, just a new trainer. She will under estimate you." Siebold stated, as if it was fact. "And, you will win." Confusion swarmed in her gut, and judging by the fact that no one else even looked half as confused as she felt, they all knew.

"What are you talking about? I just started. I have four pokémon, there's no way I can take on all of hers." And, her voice burned with an odd feeling. Clearing her throat, she began panicking when it sounded all wrong. "What… what's wrong?" She could place that sensation in her throat. It was soreness from over use, like she was yelling. Was she yelling? Sycamore frowned, an apologetic look on his face, before grabbing the mirror that laid beside him.

Her breath stopped when it was faced towards her. Swallowing back whimpers of tears, she carefully brought one hand to her left side of her head. Bandages. Thick heavy ones too. Lightly she tapped the bandages, waiting for the muffled echo, but none came, just a light pressure.

"Her Gardevoir used Disarming Voice, you lost all hearing in your left ear." Sycamore murmured, and panic streaked inside of her. This all had to be a joke, right? No way did she loose her hearing. Her Glaceon nuzzled her cheek, yipping softly, no doubt sensing her fear. "And fifty percent in your right."

"Am I supposed to be a martyr or something? Some piece in a game of chess?" She knew she wasn't wrong, judging by their expressions, well the adults' expressions. Damien looked angry, and no one argued. She was hurt by the Champion as well as the Rockets, she was strong and motivated.

"Depends on how it works out. A martyr or a new Champion." The water-type expert shrugged, a strong look in his eyes. "But, you don't have to worry about half of it, we'll help you get there."

***ESIBS***

It took much too long for Everest to be cleared from the hospital. Three days. She wanted to get out there and get stronger. She wasn't weak, she needed to prove that this injury was nothing. It wouldn't stop her. It couldn't. Siebold had left that first day, after installing his as well as the other Elite Four's contacts. He promised to keep in touch, and Everest wanted to ignore him.

Everest was waiting for someone to pop out and laugh, saying it was all a joke. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense, which sickened her to her stomach. Although, the whole 'rookie trainer' part didn't make sense, she was still lacking in the power department.

Her pokémon as well as Damien and his pokémon were clingy, sticking around Everest, which she fully was okay with. Wulfric popped in and out from time to time, checking in on her. While the professor… he was making her a hearing aid.

The more time passed, the more obvious it became, the loss of her hearing. Nothing sounded right anymore, even her voice sounded different. It was unsettling, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to cope with this, and she couldn't imagine having to live without hearing like some people had to. With a newfound respect, she promised herself that she would talk to someone in her situation ASAP.

A cool plastic-metal combination hung on her ear, and wrapped around. A slight ringing accompanied her wherever she went. Tweaks, it still needed tweaks. But it was like someone was leaning right in her ear and whispering. Now, she sat outside the pokémon center, which also specialized in human care as well. They were skilled no matter the care. All four of her pokémon refused to go back to their pokéballs. Shawn was curled up on her lap, Burn was off a few feet away, barking at a pair of Fletchling in a tree. Icee and Spencer sat in front of her, eyes laying on every living thing that came into sight.

"So… if we went up against Wulfric, who wants to fight? Damien said that he got to use three pokémon." Wincing at the feedback, she struggled to twist all the right dials to stop the horrible noises. "Shawn, I think we need to teach you some more moves before we go up against any more leaders. Just to keep you safe. Maybe bite, or shadow ball." Flipping through the possible moves, a distance attack would do wonders for her Eevee.

"Eee. Eev." Her normal type nuzzled into her hands, not addressing what she said. Sighing, she tried to think of her best course of action, just as a low growl came from her pokémon.

"Relax. I won't hurt your trainer." Wulfric greeted, a small wave before Spencer turned into a vicious looking Murkrow. Probably wanting a height advantage as Spencer took to the skies. His gaze dropped to Icee, a puzzled look on his face, one he often had as he glanced at Icee.

"Can I challenge you tomorrow? Or later today? Damien mentioned that the visiting trainer gets to have three pokémon." Burn bounced over, tackling Icee before she even realized it. She growled, before releasing a spray of white and blue.

"Hmm. Icy wind is a good starting move for an ice type." Wulfric mumbled and Burn went into a play crouch, before shooting a couple swift stars at her ice type. "If I may ask, how long has your Glaceon had those ancient runic symbols?" Blanching, worry settled in her stomach as her thoughts traveled to the giant Beartic. Hopefully by now it was all healed up.

"In Frost Cavern. We were disabling some of the traps left by the Rockets." Frowning, she remembered the horribly injured pokémon. Wulfric nodded.

"And you ran into the ancient Beartic, didn't you?" She spun to look at the old man. His eyes were full of wisdom. "Don't act so surprised young lady. I'm the ice expert in this region, and you think I don't know about some of the most powerful of my type? Although, I am surprised that it showed itself to you."

"It didn't have a choice, the Rockets had trapped it, left it to die. We freed it, and it evolved Icee in return." The man's hands tightened, till the knuckles were white. "Why didn't you come to Dendemille? I know it wasn't your territory, but its full of ice types. None of the Elite Four went either." The chill still sat in her bones, the frightening chill that had frozen the residents of the sleepy town.

"Diantha is our boss. Whether we like it or not. We cannot leave on League business if she forbids it, and she did. If we disobey, we don't get a chance to voice our opinions for a while. But, believe me, I hated that I wasn't allowed to go. I sent some of the best Rangers I knew though. Howe? You spoke with him, right?" Ranger Howe was indeed nice, and it only stregnthed her hate for Diantha. She forbade the leaders to not visit Dendemille?

"Yes. He was nice." They remained quiet for awhile, watching Icee and Burn have a mock fight, where neither actually went for damaging hits. Shawn sat in her lap, watching the two. "Do you really believe I stand a chance against Diantha?" His face turned serious, a sigh leaving his lips.

"I believe if your pokémon keep putting as much effort into protecting and growing for your safety as they have, it will happen without a doubt. So long as you put the faith they deserve into it too. Here. As a token of my faith in your abilities. You and your pokémon aren't quite ready for a gym battle. You need a little more rest, but, you're behind schedule." He held out a badge that matched the one Damien showed off to her. She hadn't been allowed to watch his match, but the boy gave her a play by play.

"I can't, I didn't earn it." Trying to push his hand back, he plopped it onto Shawn, who cooed in surprise before nudging for it to be placed on his scarf.

"You saved one of the oldest pokémon I have ever met, and it presented you with a special evolution of your Eevee. I say you earned it. After you complete all the other gyms, come and battle me, then you can prove it." Her gaze fell to Icee, who had an attract spell over Burn. "You and Damien have somewhere to be. Do me a favor, and keep growing. Take us all by surprise." Wulfric turned away, walking back in the direction of his gym, raising a hand in goodbye.

"Goodbye."


	33. Routes 21 & 22

Damien and Everest walked side by side, Ezra was perched atop Damien's head. Drac was flying above their heads, making sure that there weren't any unsavory characters around. Icee and Spencer walked beside her, appearing as a pair of Glaceon. She held Shawn in her arms, and Burn was… probably out looking for rocks. He ran off constantly, and if she wasn't sure he could handle himself for the most part, she would have been worried. But from time to time, there were blasts of fire off of the path.

Route 21 was short, if you followed the path. There were plenty of forest trails, rivers, and caves to explore off of the beaten path, but, that wasn't their adventure for today. This was week 19, already half way over, and the league began on 45. You had to have all your badges by then, and she only had four, while Damien had three. Who knows what else could hold them up. They really had to get moving.

"OH! What the hell!" Suddenly, someone came bursting from the bushes, patting his jacket, which was smoking. Burn quickly followed barking at the boy's feet. His tail was wagging, seemingly proud of himself.

"Burn, return." Holding up the ball, in a flash of red light, Burn disappeared, leaving an angry teenager.

"That was your mutt?" He sneered, clearly unimpressed. "You owe me its pelt, or at least a battle." His eyes narrowed, observing her pokémon.

"How about I battle you, and if you beat me, you battle her. You would get double prize money." Damien cut in, he glanced at Everest, who was having trouble thinking on her feet, no matter how much she denied it. Perhaps she was thankful Damien spoke up, just this once. The boy rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. Whatever. Get ready lover boy. One on one." Everest stepped back, sitting on the ground, her pokémon moving to sit in front of her. Clearly ready to protect their master. "Let's get things going Quilladin." The grass starter of Kalos was released onto the field, a haughty attitude that matched its trainer.

"Qui, quilll." It made a punching motion, yelling its war cry, jumping up and down. Silently, she wondered what she was going to do. Ground types were weak, but ice types were decent, as well as flying.

"Well, here we go. Reina." His blue pokémon revealed herself, shaking out the poison barbs, which made weirdo kid take a double take.

"So, playing type match ups are we? Fine. Rollout." The grass type rolled up into a ball, before tearing up the path, heading straight towards Reina.

"Double Kick, kick it away." Reina moved with impressive agility, and managed to jump in the air, avoiding the brunt of the attack, and being able to land the double kick, pushing the foe away. Reina didn't get away unscathed, but she was better than the Quilladin. "Try and land a poison sting. Keep going until its poisoned." Damien's Nidoran took off down the field, her poison barbs extending further out of her skin, leaking a sweet smelling poison.

"Don't let it get to you. Plant some leech seeds." Obeying its master, green seeds were spread out over the field, quickly turning to vines, snaring Reina.

"Use scratch, keep going. You're doing great." Reina's eyes glinted as she slashed at the vines, before launching herself at Quilladin, who was slow on its two feet to avoid it. Everest flinched at the sound of contact, there was no way that the poison wasn't transferred.

"Fuck. Here's your cash." The boy sneered, tossing Damien a roll of money before turning, going back the way he came. Definitely strange.

"Woah, Damien." Reina was suddenly engulfed in a bright, purple light. They both turned to see the pokémon change. First, she gained more muscle mass, bulkier as she raised perhaps a foot taller. Then, slowly, she stood up, now bipedal. Her ears fanned bigger, perking upwards. The spines along her back extended growing larger.

"Nidorina!" She screeched as the light faded, holding herself up in a high regard. Everest found herself smiling, and the pokémon who were out, crowded around the newest change in their group, excited screeches and yips. Damien hovered close by, eyes wide in amazement. She had no doubt in her mind if she wasn't poisonous upon contact, Damien would have hugged her.

****DEDRF****

There wasn't much of a change between 21 & 22, except that in between them, there was a road pointing to Victory City. It was common around the regions of the world to name one city by this name, giving the leaders of the region a place for themselves, one that wasn't run by a gym leader. Here, in the spring of every year, the Championship League was held. Trainers from anywhere and everywhere could participate, so long as they held all eight badges of Kalos.

Trainers would be paired up, the looser of the match would be eliminated just to be paired up all over again. Until there was one winner. They had the honor of facing the Elite Four, and if they beat all four, they would then face the Champion.

No doubt the leaders wanted for Everest to win the league, challenge Diantha, and win. But, she didn't how she was supposed to win… what about the returning trainers, who have competed for years on end? They were powerful, and had years of experience.

"You're not even trying." Looking at the speaker, she smiled guiltily, shrugging. Damien had his arms crossed, watching her unimpressed. Reina stood in front of her trainer, still getting used to her new body. She had Drac draped around her shoulders, flapping his wings insistingly.

"Sorry. You're right. Drac, take to the air, try and land a X-scissor on Reina." Reina couldn't dodge like she used to, gaining more body mass and a new walking style, it was Everest and Drac's job to help the poison type.

"Take a moment and don't loose your footing." The trainers could only imagine how frustrating and difficult it was to be forced to relearn how to move around every time the pokémon evolved. So far, the Nidorina's name sake didn't fit, she didn't look very royal as she moved around. Drac moved with a little less haste as well, giving Reina a moment to try and build up speed.

"Hm. Here, Reina, maybe you could pick up some pointers from Spencer, she had to figure out the same thing." Her dark type looks up from her napping spot, tail waving in annoyance. "Oh come on Spence. It's quiet around here. You can help out." It was true, they had passed over a river at the beginning of the route, and since then, all the wild pokémon were a lot less powerful. Meaning after a Psyduck tried attacking Burn, none of the wild pokémon within a mile even approached them.

Shawn sat in her arms. He was still being really clingy, which she didn't mind. She found it cute as the Eevee licked her hands from time to time, or fell asleep. He was soft, even with all the scars. Part of her wondered if this clingy nature meant anything about evolution. Sycamore would know.

Her dark type stood, and suddenly lunged at Reina, who shrieked, trying to run away. Failing to stifle a laugh, she and Damien watched in amusement as Spencer forced Reina to run, getting her used to her new body in a completely different way.

They were getting closer and closer to the Kalos League, and they were getting closer and closer to unlocking their true potential. They didn't know it yet, bt they would take the world by storm.

 **AN: Any guesses for the rest of the teams? Ground types for Damien of course, and Everest is kind of a free for all.** **Thank you all! -Z**


	34. Damien in Santalune

"Ah, Everest! My favorite trainer!" Mr. Azusa grinned, throwing his arms up in the air excitedly, before pulling his daughter to his side. Rinka frowned and faked annoyance as she pushed away from her father's hug. "Ah, is this the young man that got one of my skates?"

"Yes sir, thank you for them by the way." Damien smiled, before looking around the shop. "Looks like you're doing well, the shop I mean." It was certainly lively within the store, a few people were looking around and trying skates on.

"Certainly! With all of Everest's help. Business has been booming! Speaking of which, I wanted to give you a gift." She faltered, holding her hands up to Mr. Azusa.

"Oh, you don't have to! You gave us these." Pointing to the rollerblades. The older man laughed heartily before turning to his daughter.

"Well, to be completely honest, it's more of a favor than a job. See, my daughter was tricked into purchasing a Pokémon." He began, and Rinka looked down at the floor in shame and embarrassment.

"He was really convincing, telling me all these amazing things about a Pokémon... he sounded like he was telling the truth." Everest frowned, looking at the father-daughter duo.

"But Rinka isn't old enough to really start taking care of a Pokémon, plus, I have no idea how to care for the thing. I don't want to treat it wrongly because we don't have the time. Until Rinka is old enough to go on her own adventure, I would say she can't have it." He frowned, before pulling out a pokéball. "See, it's a water type, low powered. Water based, can't walk on land. But it needs to experience battling and traveling." Everest nodded slowly, and Mr. Azusa gave her the ball. "Please take good care of it, like your other Pokémon. You should stop in one more time before you leave."

As they left the shop, with promises of returning, Everest looked down at the pokéball. There were gold flakes coming off of it, like someone had painted it the color gold with cheap paint. Everyone knew that Smeargle paint was the best. The red of the ball was showing through, and she wondered what kind of shady person had sold a supposedly weak Pokémon to a child as young as Rinka.

"If you got handed half as good a Pokémon as I did from Howe, it will be alright." So long as that held true at least. Traded and gifted Pokémon had a reputation for being trouble some, especially when they were traded without consent from the Pokémon themself. Being given away as if you were nothing wasn't a good feeling Everest was sure. No doubt Forage and this new Pokémon wouldn't trust as easily.

"I hope you're right. Here, let's let them out in the fountain in the town square." It was a pretty big fountain, the middle resembled Roselia. Citizens roamed around, not giving much attention to the two trainers.

"What kind of Pokémon do you think it is?" They stood there for awhile, Damien awaiting Everest's next move, while the trainer had to think over everything that has happened.

"Maybe a Chinchou? Water-electric would be pretty cool." With her finger hovering over the release button, she took a deep breath. She has had good luck with all of her Pokémon so far, who's to say it ends here, right?

A flash of an almost dull red surrounded the trainers, and went into the water. Everest eagerly looked over the edge of the fountain, only to find a Pokémon she wasn't familiar with.

"Well, not to be rude, but you aren't the prettiest Pokémon I've ever seen." Damien mumbled, and Everest had to agree. On the surface of the water, a dull two-shaded brown made up the main body of it, startling white eyes, and pale blue were the fins. To make it look even less powerful, the fins were stubby, and had huge pink lips.

"Hey, don't listen to him he-" Suddenly, she found herself with a face full of water. Coughing and trying to get the sudden burning feeling of water out of her eyes, she turned away, scrubbing excessively. But the time her vision cleared, the fish was lazily circling in the fountain. "My name is Everest, a friend of mine was your previous trainer, and they were worried about not being able to have enough time to train you. But I'm trying to grow stronger. Wanna come with?" The fish didn't answer, just continued to swim. Exchanging a look with Damien, she was hesitant to approach the Pokémon. The face full of water was harmless, but she didn't want to aggravate it either.

"It looks kind of like a Stunfisk, don't you think? Similar color scheme at least." He mused, they exchanged uncertain looks. Everest pulled out her pdéx, focusing on the mysterious Pokémon.

"Roselia, the thorn Pokémon. It shoots sharp thorns as projectiles at any opponent that tries to steal the flowers on its arms. The aroma of this Pokémon brings serenity to any living thing around it." Pinching the bridge of her nose, she wiped the information of the screen, and tried to aim it once more at her newest Pokémon.

She had forgotten how annoying it was.

"Feebas. The fish Pokémon. Ridiculed for its shabby appearance it is ignored by researchers. It lives in ponds choked with weeds." Her mouth went dry, looking at the moves it has learned, as well as possible moves.

"My Feebas is male. He knows Splash. That's it. There are only three possible moves..." The fish continued to swim in circles, not paying attention to the dumbstruck Everest and Damien.

"Well, what about evolution? Does he have a half decent second form? Just gotta put in time and heart, right?" Wearily she shook her head, giving Damien her device. A low whistle followed, and he laughed out of pity. "No evolutions discovered."

"Feebas, can I give you a nickname? All of my friends have one." She was going to make this work. She had to. No Pokémon could be completely useless, after all, he had two possible damaging moves. Shawn already knew tackle, and could teach him. Besides, Feebas had a half decent speed stat too. No one was completely useless, no one, even if the researchers had given up on the poor thing. Not to mention, apparently it was some kind of crude ruse to get rich quick.

The pokémon didn't respond, only flicked his tail, splashing her again. swallowing back annoyance, an idea came to mind.

"Alright. I'm naming you Splash. Set in stone, nothing can change my mind now." She grinned before recalling her unresponsive pokémon. "Alrighty Damien. Let's go! Gym leaders to beat, rooms to claim." Damien watched his friend for a moment before nodding, letting her lead the way to his next gym battle.

***ESIBSS***

"Everest! I'm so glad to see you again!" Viola's voice echoed around the gallery, she and Damien were admiring a photo of an evolving Caterpie when the gym leader found them.

"Me too Viola! I'm glad to pop in again. This is my friend Damien." She let go of her camera in favor of shaking Damien's hand, a grin on her face.

"I suppose you would like to challenge me as well." He grinned, nodding excitedly, and the gym leader's attention turned to Icee, who sat at Everest's feet.

"Wow, this must be Icee, Glaceon is a powerful evolution." A bright flash, and her ice type suddenly found herself the subject of a photoshoot. "Well, I suppose we ought to get started." As if she was sad to have to stop taking pictures, ten minutes later, Viola gladly brought them through the halls to the battlefield.

All three trainers separated, Everest in favor of the balcony above the battlefield, while Damien and Viola took their places on the field. Everest knew Damien could take her down, he had plenty of pokémon that could deal with what Viola could dish out. It was just a matter of him being able to see the interesting moves before she played them.

"Each trainer has the use of two pokémon, no switch outs, and Viola will reveal her pokémon first. The trainer to run out of useable pokémon is the looser. Is the challenger ready?" Burmy lady was back, she held a microphone in hand. Damien nodded, pulling on the goggles which as of late had just hung around his eyes.

"Ready." From above, she saw his hand linger over Ezra's ball, and secretly she wanted to see the dragon battle as well, but if she used Surskit, hopefully he would be clever enough to not send Ezra to his doom.

"Come on out, Vivillon." This one, Everest noted was a different color scheme than the one she had faced, bringing to question, what moves were different here. Viola was sure going to make this interesting.

"Alright. Ha, let's do this Ezra." The pokéball was tossed in the air, and his oddly colored Vibrava appeared. Hovering in the air, Ezra seemed to look over the bug, before flying off, never keeping still. Damien taught him well. "Sandstorm." A wind whipped up, coming from the strong, orange colored wings, engulfing the entire field in a strong sandstorm. This was Damien's natural state, no doubt this may throw the gym leader for a loop. As a consequence, the trainers would have to shout to even have a chance of being heard.

Everest didn't have a chance of hearing them, she noted with a sigh as she could see Viola's mouth open, and she pointed. Numbly, her hand strayed to her ear, ghosting over the new device. Icee suddenly began pawing at her belt, where the pokéballs hung, and suddenly, Everest was surrounded by her friends, minus Splash.

"Hey guys." A flash of green shot at Ezra, no doubt some special grass type move. The dragon barely dodged it, rolling into a couple flips in order to cleaning come out of it, and shot at the ground which ate him up. Damien wasn't dumb, ground type moves wouldn't affect Vivillon, but she was willing to bet that this was so he could kick up bigger rocks for rock throw.

Luckily enough for Damien, any moves side sleep powder or poison powder would be null in a storm like this, lost to the roar of the wind, that allow for more freedom on the dragon, and it hot out of the ground, sending rocks everywhere, but not even trying to hit Vivillon. Since Ezra was flying, dig might have done some damage, but they didn't try. A pink glow overtook Viola's pokémon, the bug suddenly had Ezra in its grasp, and seemingly used draining kiss. Taking Shawn in her arms, she hugged her normal type. As much as she liked battling, sometimes seeing them get hurt was painful, but Ezra kept flying anyways.

Then, with a new strategy Everest hadn't seen before, the rocks were picked up by the sandstorm, tossing them to and fro as if they were paper airplanes, and making it impossible to predict all of the paths they would take, and consequently, Vivillon fell to the ground, fainted.

The sandstorm didn't die down, but she didn't have to hear Viola to know what pokémon was sent out. The blue four-legged pokémon appeared, already sliding back and forth on its feet. She saw it coming before it even began. A strong surge of chill fell over them, and ice shot through the air, hitting Ezra, and freezing two of his wings. Damien recalled the Vibrava before he even hit the ground.

Without its creator, the sandstorm died down.

"Okay, Forage, you ready?" Grinning, he tossed the ball, revealing his final choice for this battle. The Swinub sniffed at the ground, rooting around at the ground, disinterested with the battle for the time being.

"Did you feed him this morning?" She knew he did, but she made the joke anyways, and Damien waved her off, he still had that excited gleam in his eyes. Already, Everest knew that Viola couldn't use the same strategy on Damien as she did on her. Ice floors wouldn't stop a Swinub, and would instead increase the speed.

"Get in there quick and use signal beam." A rush of blue followed, and flashed the light of the move in Swinub's eyes, but, that allowed for Damien to pull out his next trick.

"Mud bomb, slow it down, and once you have a lock, take down." Even Surskit couldn't move fast enough to get away, and got a huge ball of mud from the ground shot at it, making it much harder to skate around. Forage then took off, slamming into the blue pokémon, damaging them both, but only Surskit fainted.

"Wow, you've got some strong pokémon." Viola praised, and recalled hers, before motioning at the Burmy lady. "Give Damien here his badge, he deserves it." Damien grinned, and knelt down to pet his pokémon, praising it.

"Thank you Viola." Now, both trainers had four badges, bug, electric, psychic, and ice. Four more to go, and a competition of the ages. And in the middle of all that, the creators of chaos, itching to rule the world and owning everything that had value. They were Team Rocket, and one of their operatives watched the battle between Damien of Unova, and Viola of Santalune. Oddly enough, the dark haired girl hadn't participated or battled, so they couldn't report on her, but Damien had given away plenty of information. They had to get a hand on that shiny Vibrava.


	35. Uncharted Territory

**Uncharted Territory, aka Mount Fletchinder**

"Look, I know- ugh. That traveling west should, in theory, Burn, would you just... thanks. Be faster than going north, west, and then south again through the routes. Cause, that will be... awful. Oh Mew. Give me a moment... to catch my breath." There was a reason that there wasn't a route cutting across from Santalune to Camphier. "I officially hate mountains." Everest kicked a rock.

Damien raised an eyebrow, he held a staff in his hand, and Ezra was perched on his shoulder. Burn was currently jumping up and down the mountain, figuring out safe paths for the trainers to follow. Shawn was curled around Everest's neck, keeping the wind off. Since they had gotten pretty high up so far, it was steadily getting cooler.

"You're lucky you didn't just kick a Roggenrola or something." The boy commented, with much more care than Everest was, he walked, trying not to step on a pokémon. There were a few Gogoat hopping from cliff edge, to edge. Thankfully, they didn't seem to mind Everest and Damien's presence, even if Burn was going a little far as to shoot embers at them.

"Gooo. Attt." One bayed kicking a rock at Burn. Her Flareon easily jumped out of the way, almost taunting it.

"Burn, leave it alone. They aren't going to attack us." Watching her fire type fondly, Everest had to turn back to the task at hand, one false step, and she could fall off. "So, Damien, how long till the League?" Damien pulled out his Pokédex (which, for the record, was an older version of her own, which made zero sense.) and after a few beeps, he looked up from the device.

"We have to be registered with proof of all eight badges in twenty weeks." Damien cursed silently, and looked up at the sky. "Twenty weeks to be battle ready." He ran his fingers over Ezra's head. "Now I see why most people never make it to the League in their first year."

"Don't pull that crap, we'll make it. Besides, we've got plenty of time."

**ESIBSS**

Three days later, the pair of trainers sat around a lake. Or, perhaps it wasn't a lake… is that what you call the body of water atop a mountain, falling off as a waterfall? It was part of the mountain, not to big a place, a few trees, a little bit of flat space. A great reprieve from the treacherous mountain terrain they had had the past few days.

"If you ever make me climb a mountain again, I'm gonna have Icee freeze you." Everest murmured that morning as the sun rose. Everest was laying on the ground, laying back on Spencer, Burn was barking, chasing after Forage. The little, brown pokémon was scurrying around, sniffing the different tree trunks. Somehow evading Burn, without even trying it seemed like.

Shawn sat in her lap, licking her shirt. She pet him with her non-dominant hand, with the other, she was sketching in her journal. Shawn was growing, he was still small for an Eevee, but, if she had to guess, Shawn would be ready for an evolution any day now. So, figuring, that Shawn would manage to find himself an evolution stone, or find some means of it, she wanted to document his scars before he changed.

Eevee have been documented to disappear for a few days, and suddenly come back, changed. Evolved. She had no doubt that if Shawn wanted to evolve, it would happen soon enough. Sketching the pokémon, she had to smile.

"Pretty sure this was all your idea Eve." Damien grinned, he threw a ball off the side of the mountain. A screech followed, and Drac shot off, no doubt to retrieve the ball. "And this is quite the relaxing stroll, if I do say so myself." Voice thick with sarcasm, he waved her off. "Hey, Ezra, you should keep practicing Dig, since it's different with wings."

"Damien's right, we should really keep working on moves." For a moment, Everest looked down at her belt where she kept her friends. "Hey, do you think you could work with Shawn, try and get him to learn bite? I need to work with Splash." The Feebas had yet to respond, or listen to Everest, which made it really frustrating.

"No problem. Come on Shawn, you too Burn." Her companion smiled softly, clearly worried for her. Not because of Feebas' strength, but because this was really their first uncooperative pokémon. "Maybe Forage will help you, Forage, want help out Everest?" The shy pokémon listened, and came almost within reach of Everest.

Okay, maybe they had two problem children. Forage was okay, but they really just needed to get him used to being around humans and all the different pokémon.

"Hey there buddy. Wanna be my back up?" Soft snorts were Everest's only response, so, she grabbed her newest pokéball. "Come on out Splash!" Splash came out of the ball, only to immediately splash Everest in the face.

While there hadn't been many good opportunities to try and connect to her Feebas, since they had to be in water constantly, Everest thought they would have gotten past this by now.

"Splash, I've got a treat for you, water-types are especially fond of them." Damien had pointed out a bush full of ripe berries, a kind water types liked very much. Holding up a couple of Passho berries. The fleshy part of the berries grew to be an indigo color when ripe, and the leaves became golden. At the peak of their ripeness, she presented the handful to Splash.

Carefully, she placed them in the water, not needing to scare off her pokémon. Forage grunted beside her, probably protesting to seeing food just being 'wasted' in the lake. Wide, white and black eyes watched her, not blinking.

"Here Splash, I found these. I thought you might like them. I'm sorry we haven't been around big bodies of water lately, but I think we should be camping out here a couple of days, so you don't need-" Before she could even blink, a flash of pain spread through her forehead. "Crap! Everest." Pushing herself off of the ground, and back to kneeling, she realized what happened.

"Spencer! Put Splash down!" Splash had tackled her, leading to Spencer to retaliate, who know held a flailing Feebas in her claws, no injuries had occurred yet though. Spencer snarled, showing off razor sharp fangs to the fish, black and red tail swishing angrily. "Now Spencer." Reluctantly, her dark type threw Splash back into the lake, rather harshly in fact.

"Zorrrrr." Spencer was dangerous, no doubt about it, but Splash didn't seem to care. Instead, it disappeared into the depths of the lake, not looking back.

"Hey, you don't need to worry about Splash. He'll come around." Not only trying to convince Spencer, but herself as well. "I'll be okay, don't worry. Just a bump." Spencer refused to leave her side for the rest of the day, Instead, she sat there next to Everest, grooming her fur, and show small sparks at Forage, who played along.

**DEDRF**

"So, tell me about Unova." Sitting around a campfire, which may have been a little out of control, thanks to an overzealous fire type, but that was besides the point. They were warm and comfortable as Everest stirred the pot of soup.

"Unova." The male trainer sighed happily, clearly imagining his home. "What do you want to know?" Only having been as far as the Desert Resort, and only in Unova for a few weeks, she didn't know much. Only what Damien has told her so far.

"Well, anything really. How about… is the Champion decent?" The light from the flames flickered over the sleeping forms of some of their pokémon. Drac and Spencer were out patrolling, somewhere. In the dark of night.

"His name is Adler. He's been the champion for soooo long. There's whispers of him retiring soon, one of his best pokémon is growing sick." Damien began, before pulling out a book from his bag. "He was so tough, and still is! He's amazing. Adler travels constantly, he is always somewhere different, helping out everywhere in Unova. I even met him once." Grinning at the memory, the ground type master had to laugh. "You should have seen him. I only had Ezra at the time, and we were in the resort. He was as badly prepared for it as you were Everest."

"Oh come on! I wasn't bad! I could have handled it myself." It was a lie, and they both knew it. "Besides, I had four pokémon at the time, and you only had two!"

"You were toast against that Hipowdon. It ate every move you sent at it." Damien's snickers filled the air, and Everest pouted.

"Just you wait buddy. You're totally gonna be toast."

"You're so on!"

It was quiet after the for a short while. They were both starving after a full day of training, so they stopped talking in favor of devouring the soup that had finally thickened up. Their pokémon happily ate their own food, a new kind they wanted to try out, which they picked up after Damien beat Viola.

Seems like they enjoyed it, supposedly it was fresher, and more nutritious. If it was, that would be awesome, they would take all the help they could get. There's always a chance to get better.

"Do you think the Rockets are as evil in Kanto as they are here?" Damien was the one to break the silence. "I mean, Kanto has that crazy team full of Dragonite. All trained under a Champion. I wouldn't mess with them. But, Kalos? Diantha isn't even trying."

**if you couldn't tell, I don't like Diantha**

"So, according to this video, Punishment, is a move that is based a lot on your speed, as well as the other pokémon. So, Shawn, do me a favor, and use tail whip." Everest was battling against herself, trying to get both of her pokémon to learn a new move. "Alright, now, so, you're going to start running Spence. Then, when you reach your opponent, you swipe from down to up."

"On a scale of one to ten, Burn, how much do you need these rocks?" Damien sat next to Burn, who has made a giant stockpile of rocks. They had given up watching Everest try and teach her pokémon, instead they opted to clean up their newest campsite on this mountain. the fourth in a week.

"Flare! Ree re onnn." Burn barked, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted. Feeling more than a little guilty, Damien looked over the project Burn has clearly put a lot of work into.

"Riiight." There had to be more than fifty here. "You probably have dramatically changed the landscape of every location you have been. Good job." The Flareon only barked back happily, wagging his tail. "Fine, pick your five favorite. Those, we will keep. All the others stay here."

"Geo!" Damien shrieked (it was very mature, not high pitched at all, perhaps more of a shout) as a Geodude came erupting from Burn's rock pile, waving its arms angrily.

"Burn! This is your fault." Jumping to his feet, Damien booked it, after all, all of his pokéballs were fifty yards away with his bag. "Spencer! Help me!" The Geodude was a maniac, throwing rocks everywhere.

A flash of grey and red, and Spencer was on the job. Risking a glance behind him, Damien couldn't help but be slightly impressed as a blackness appeared over Spencer's paw, as she swiped upwards, sending the Geodude flying.

"Wooo! That was an amazing Punishment." Everest grinned, before rushing over to Damien. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No but-"

"No! And yet you still freaked out like that? What do you have against Geodude!" Sure, they were pretty small compared to other rock and ground types… but they gave him the chills.

"Wait, you're telling me, they don't freak you out? They are literally a floating head, with arms growing out of its sideburns." Everest starting laughing, at his explanation, and turned away.

"Wow, what else freaks you out? Ho Oh?" Damien blushed at the question, and didn't even respond. He thought they were creepy, and she was never going to convince him other wise.

 **AN: Ha ha... I'm back? Sorry,** **definitely didn't mean to ditch this for a month. But... here's a chapter for all you lovely folks. And, heres a fun fact, Geodude was the only pokémon I didn't get in my pokédex in my Red version as a kid, for exactly the reason above. -Z**


	36. Camphrier Town

"Never thought I would be this happy to see a Pokémon center." Damien groaned, the two travelers finally made it out of the mountains, and were stepping onto actual paved stone.

"Gotta agree with you on that one." They had been awake for more than 24 hours, after a huge thunderstorm moved into the mountain range, not only drenching them and all the possible firewood, but it riled up the wild pokémon living on the mountain. The wild pokémon took out their annoyance of the storm on Everest and Damien. Which then prompted the travelers to have to hike out as quickly as possible.

The familiar orange-red roof was one of the first buildings within the town. It was a cozy town, small, and clearly connected. Although, admiring the square was the last thing on her mind, seeing as rain was still coming down in sheets.

Running for cover, out of breath, Everest slipped in the mud just outside of the pokémon center, and fell onto Damien, who fell, face first onto the tile floor of the center. Thankfully, she noted that he fell onto Forage, who didn't seem all that bothered by it.

The artificial florescent lights of the center shined in her eyes as Everest looked up to the ceiling, a welcome change from the the stormy rainclouds. Rolling off of Damien, she laughed at the ridiculous amount of mud he was covered in, no doubt she was in just as rough shape.

Pink flats walked into her peripheral, and a Nurse Joy looked over the two of them, a mix between worry and uncertainty filled her eyes. Scrambling to her feet, Everest had to wince at the sight of all the mud they tracked in.

"Um, sorry Nurse Joy. We can help you clean it up." Bowing slightly, Everest straightened up, and Damien rushed o her side, his shoes squeaking on the tile.

"Oh, it's alright. It's been pretty quiet around here with the storm." It was true, there was no one else in the lobby of the center surprisingly. "Now, I assume you would like a room?"

"Yes please, and, could you check over our pokémon as well?" She looked delighted to finally have a couple of patients, and gladly accepted their pokémon. "Come on Spence, let Nurse Joy take care of you. Hop over the counter." With a sigh, Spencer jumped over the counter, along with Forage, and Icee.

"Thanks." Damien took the key Joy offered, "for the room, and your help. Could you just send them to the room when they're feeling better?"

"Of course. You two definitely need a shower and a laundry machine. Dryer and washer are on the second floor." Thanking her again, Everest and Damien chose the hallway that led to the rooms.

**ESIBSS**

When they had the chance, sleeping in a bed was wonderful. Sun was streaming in the windows, the rain had finally let up. Last night, there wasn't much happening, they ate dinner, cleaned up, and went to bed as soon as their pokémon returned to the room.

It was a huge room, it would probably fit four people well. Instead, Everest and Damien each took a queen bed, their own pokémon surrounded them. Making up one wall was a huge aquarium, and Splash swam around inside.

Everest awoke to find her own pokémon sleeping, and it was kinda cute. Burn was curled up into her side, and Shawn was sleeping under the Flareon's paw. Spencer, per usual acted as a pillow, while Icee slept at her feet.

Across the room, she grinned, as Damien was nearly falling off of the bed. His own friends were splayed around the bed, and he was clearly exhausted.

"Alright Damien. I'll see you later." Carefully getting out of the bed, she tried not to wake her own friends, only being slightly successful. Shawn and Spencer's eyes opened, no doubt wondering why on earth she was already up. "Hey, I'm gonna go for a walk. Anyone wanna come along?"

"Eee. Vee." Shawn struggled to get away from Burn, while Spencer closed her eyes again, going back to sleep.

"Let's go Shawn." Throwing on her clothes, making sure to put a key in her pocket, Everest slowly opened the door. "Ready?" Shawn hopped up to her shoulder, and licked her cheek. "Alright, let's go explore." Once the door closed, she took off running.

"Veee. Eevee." Shawn brushed her cheek with his tail, excitedly yipping as they wandered around the city.

"What do you think we'll find out here?" People were outside, now that the rain had cleared up. Fresh bread was baking just down the street, a pair of Bunneary were digging in the garden square. "Hey, let's go eat, I'm sure they've got some amazing berries."

Shawn cooed in agreement, pawing at her shoulder. Moving closer to the bakery, she gently took Shawn off her shoulder, in favor of holding him.

"Hi, could I have a table please?" The waiter of the bakery smiled, and grabbed a menu.

"Course. This way please, miss." The seating was mostly outside, which certainly was lovely in the early morning sunlight. Shawn jumped out of her arms, laying on the table. "My name is Elias. I'll be back in a few with water." Pulling the chair out, Everest fumbled with her pokédex.

"Alrighty, Shawn. I know that you don't like fighting. At least, you don't love it. But, I was wondering, if you want to evolve. If you want to, into what exactly." She pulled up one of her most visited pages. "So, Flareon, like Burn, or Vaporeon, or Jolteon. They need evolution stones. If you want to be any of them, we can locate the stone, whenever you want." The three aforementioned evolutions were on the screen.

Eevee were curious. Everest was impressed with all the different evolutions that they could become. Jolteon were fast, Vaporeon had a crazy amount of health. Flareon had high attack damage. Any would be amazing, even if she got another Flareon.

"Or, like Icee, we could go on an adventure to find another ice rock, or go deep into forests, that's normally where Leafeon come from." Their evolution method wasn't as solid as with the evolution stones, but whatever Shawn wanted to do, they could figure it out. Leafeon had great defense, while Glaceon had special attack.

Shawn didn't say or do anything, just watched calmly, listening. Before the trainer could speak up again, the waiter came around again, with water for both of them.

"What can I get you?" The sun was rising higher, and Everest finally noticed she actually was hungry.

"Um, could I have oatmeal, and two sides of berries?" Shawn perked up at the mention of the fruit, and after the waiter wrote down their orders, she handed n the menu, before turning back to Shawn. "Then, there's Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon. They all evolve on their own time. You don't have to evolve Shawn, but if you do, I want to help you." Shawn didn't say anything, just continued to look at the screen. "Okay, if you need my help, let me know, okay?"

**DEDRF**

"Everest!" After paying for her meal, Shawn and Everest had decided on walking the plaza, visiting the small shops for trainers and tourists alike. Glancing up, she had expected to find Damien, instead, a blonde waved happily, thick glasses in front of his eyes.

"Clemont? What are you doing all the way out here? Shouldn't you be in Lumiose, building a huge flashlight or something?" He stood in front of a lamppost, a gadget in hand, although Everest had no idea what its purpose was. Walking to greet him, he surprised her with a hug, which she gladly returned.

"I heard about route 19. I'm really sorry." he paused, the air filled with an awkward tension. "But, that's not why I'm here. There have been a lot of power surges here, and thy needed an expert to come out and take readings, and fix it before it becomes a problem." In fact, that made sense, she remembered late last night, when she had been cooking, the lights flickered like some cheesy horror movie. "I've even got Emolga with me. It's here somewhere, helping me take readings from the sky."

"That makes sense. Do you have any idea what is causing the power surges?" As they spoke, the street lamp began buzzing before the bulb exploded. "Woah." Both trainers took a couple steps backwards, warily watching for more damage to come.

"Not sure yet. But, it's something strong. It's devouring the power before it can reliably feed the town's power grid. Then, it'll stop for a few minutes, then it will fizzle all over again." Clemont began typing something into his hand held, occupied for a few moments.

"Could it be a bunch of wild electric types? I've heard of that happening in other regions." Blue eyes narrowed carefully, he was clearly trying to figure out what the readings were saying.

"No, it's not natural. Has to be something man-made, the timing between surges is always exactly 14 minutes. Nothing organic." Looking around, Everest could spot a few other busted lights, each at different states of sparking. "You and Damien should keep moving! You're half way to the league. I'll see you soon." Taking that as her cue to leave, she did so, with Shawn following.


	37. Route 7

**Route 7**

Route 7 was parallel to a river, which therefor brought out a bunch of water type Pokémon. Not only that, but there were flowers and tall grass growing _everywhere_ so plenty of wild Pokémon ran amok.

"Ducklett. Ducklett. Let, let." The water-flying type sat in front of them, quacking loudly, not allowing for them to pass. There were twelve of them, just sitting in the middle of the path. Every time Everest and Damien tried to move further on the route, one of them sent a water gun shooting at them.

"Dudes, if you don't cut it out, I'm going to send one of my Pokémon after you. And, I don't think you'll like it." Damien threatened. It wasn't a very convincing threat, considering the sheer number of them sitting in the road. Sure, Everest had no doubt that she could beat them, but there were so many, they could easily over power the two trainers.

"Lett, lett, lett." One squawked back, flapping its wings before pecking at the ground. They were far from imposing, but, they didn't want to try and mess with them either.

"What do we do?" As they spoke, another Ducklett flew in, landing only a few feet from Damien. "I think they like you."

"They like you way more, Everest." Drac sat on Damien's shoulder obediently, only really because earlier he did in fact try and get past the flock, and got six water guns to the face. He wasn't happy, so he pouted, hiding behind Damien. "We could go back to the house we passed earlier. Maybe they've come across these guys."

Walking away from the flock of Ducklett, Everest couldn't help but note that they were walking away from their final goal, undoing their progress. Sure, it would only ultimately be about a mile, but that was another mile that they could have made towards Cyllage City.

Beside her, Spencer growled lowly in her throat, at the moment she was a Furfrou, protectively walking beside Everest. Shawn sat on her shoulder, squeaking at Drac, luckily, it was in her bad ear, so she could turn off the aid.

"What do you think, about the Rockets? What are they even doing?" It was quiet, Everest kicked a rock lying in the path. Damien frowned at her question.

"In Kanto, their mission is supposedly to collect rare and powerful Pokémon. I would assume their Kalos branch would be similar. But, some of their moves don't make all that much sense. Why capture all those Pokémon from Dendemille, only to let them go again? They didn't even get that Beartic." Even just with Damien mentioning the Beartic, Everest could remember the ice in her veins.

"What could they even have gotten out of ruining Dendemille?" Distractedly, she looked down at her feet, kicking another rock. "We could skate to the house, make it faster." Clicking her heels, the skates rolled out. Damien copied her moves, before taking off.

**Everest**

"Welcome to the Route 7 Daycare, how can we help you today?" A man, maybe early 20's stood at the counter. He had a green and white uniform on, his name tag read 'Dwayne'. To the left of the desk he stood at, was a fenced in area, and a glass sliding door leading outside. Within the pen were a few pokémon, familiar and new to Everest.

"Um, what is it you do here?" Everest asked, it was kind of a strange building, there even was a transfer machine off to the side. The man laughed, and pointed to the gate where a Tranquil, a Swanna, and some other flying type was.

"We help you and your pokémon get stronger, if you don't have the time to. The longer you leave them with us, we will continue working with them to get them stronger, and sometimes they even learn new moves." Dwayne explained. "Now, would you like to leave some of your pokémon with us? We charge per week you leave them with us."

"Is it popular, for trainers to leave their pokémon with you?" She couldn't imagine leaving her pokémon in the hands of another person to train, it wouldn't feel like it was her accomplishment.

"Of course, especially in trainers who are busy with jobs, or have more than six pokémon, so they are able to train all at once." Everest exchanged a look with Damien, who shrugged.

"Well, not now, thank you. But, we were wondering, have you had troubles with a flock of Ducklett out on 7? We can't get past them." A look of understanding passed over him, and he dug in his pockets before producing a package of treats.

"Here, they've nested nearby, just give them some of these, and they'll leave you alone. Have a great day." Everest waved at him, after Damien took the treats.

"Thank you, you too." A thought came to mind, just as they were walking out the door, so she turned back. "Is this one of those centers, that helps trainers breed their pokémon? Helping raise pokémon eggs?"

"Oh, eggs aren't our specialty. We have specialists on hand to… ya know, help out learn… moves and stuff. We rarely handle eggs." Dwayne, faltered, loosing his composure. Something was off, and Everest grew uncomfortable.

"You're right, back in Unova, daycares usually helped trainers obtain eggs… how can you not produce pokémon eggs?" Damien and Everest turned to look at the pokémon within the gates.

"Here, we section off males and females, to prevent things like that happening. Now, unless you're planning on leaving your pokémon here, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Dwayne's voice grew steely, and the hair on the back of Everest's neck raised slightly, beside her, Spencer growled.

"But, only trainers are allowed to know their pokémon's gender… unless they all release that information to you… that's impossible." Trailing off, a very bad feeling settled in her stomach.

"Fuck it. Swanna, use Air Slash, Pidgeotto, Twister, and Tranquil use Razor Wind." All three flying types turned at once, and on instinct, she took a step back.

"Drac, use acrobatics." The Gligar flew out in front of the trainers, follows by Everest's own pokémon, including Shawn.

"Flamethrower, Quick Attack." It was an awful string of cries of attack after that, a jumbled mess. The building was tiny, and if they let any more pokémon out, they would only get in the way.

Shawn struck first, hitting Pidgeotto. Leaving himself open for an attack, she flinched when Tranquil's wings brightened, and sent an attack at not only Shawn, but hit Drac as well. Pidgiotto turned, and began mustering up the dragon type move.

"Are you trying to kill us all? Twister will trap us all in it!" Damien yelled over the wind as they were getting pulled into the wind tunnel." Dwayne grinned manically, and grabbed ahold of a steel bar attached to the desk. While still able to maneuver, Swanna began flapping their wings, Air Slash cutting through the air, straight for the trainers.

Spencer stood in front of them, growling lowly, and flames erupted, circling the flying types, including Drac. Everest could feel the heat on her face, and watched as Spencer's form turned back to her natural state, taller and intimidating. Tranquil fell to the floor, followed by Drac, so Damien recalled him.

The Twister continued to grow stronger, forcing both trainers to hang onto the door and window in order to not be sucked in. She couldn't hear anything over the roar of the wind, and Damien didn't haven enough time to reach down to his belt and pull out one of his other pokémon.

Shawn wasn't doing well, he was trying to jump at the two flying types, because he didn't have any long ranged moves, but he couldn't move quickly enough without getting burned. Spencer was doing everything she could to keep the stray moves from hitting the trainers, which kept her occupied. Everything seemed to be at a standstill, until, in a flash of purple and pink, Pidgiotto hit the ground hard. Repeatedly, like some invisible force was slamming the normal type every which way.

A bright light was overloading their senses, with the roar of the wind, and the different sensations from the moves being used, Everest stared wide-eyed at Shawn. His ears split completely where there were rips in his ears, down the middle, before growing twice as big, fanning straight out the sides. He grew at least a foot, and lost a lot of the fluffy fur around his neck. The tail lost fluff as well, before growing much longer, splitting in half as well.

Light dying down, her new pokémon's eyes flashed dangerously with a blue light, and Pidgiotto was encased in the pink-purple light, and thrown around like a rag doll, successfully stopping the twister, which was slowly dying down. This gave Spencer a chance to lunge at the Swanna, and hit it to the ground.

"Shit." Dwayne tried to run, moving fast towards the glass doors, but Shawn caught him easily, lifting him into the air, before putting him on the ground in front of Everest.

"Espee." Shawn cooed at her, rubbing up against her shins. Before she knew it, there was a loud metallic noise, and the fence tore apart, one of the rails bent around the man's torso, keeping him still.

"Wow Shawn! Nice job, you're amazing." Still shocked and in surprise, she bent down, petting the soft, pink fur.

"Ugh, you are those two nosey trainers, aren't you? The one the boss wants dead?" Dwayne's voice changed (if that even was his real name) an accent slipping in, one that Everest couldn't identify.

"Boss? Who do you work for?" Damien's question only earned them a string of laughter, and the man tore off his green and white apron, revealing a white polo, with a red R stitched on the chest.

"Who else?" Without looking at the guy again, Everest brought up her phone, looking for Howe's number.


	38. Connecting Cave

Everest and Damien stood outside of the cave entrance, already, the screeches of Zubat could be heard, the biggest menace in all of the world. They repopulated quickly, and were dangerous not only to humans, but Pokémon as well once they over populated an area. They were territorial, and unafraid of larger opponents.

'There is currently an over population of Zubat within the Connecting Cave, please capture, or eliminate the Zubat as you deem necessary, until further notice.' -The Pokémon Rangers.

"Is there a way to get to Cyllage, without going through the Cave?" Everest mumbled, already knowing the answer. Unless they wanted to back track all over Kalos, this would be the only way.

"It can't be too difficult... right?" As Damien spoke, he recalled Ezra, and instead let Forage and Drac out. Everest had Shawn, her newly evolved Espeon, who was very regal, but protective. Lately, he hadn't been as opposed to fighting as he had been, evolution turned out to be good for his fighting spirit.

"It's supposed to take about four days to get through the cave. We have enough rations to last twice that long, and lots of medicine, we should be okay, so long as we don't go loosing our supplies." Without another word, the pair walked in, each had a flashlight because almost immediately, darkness fell upon them, there were no breaks to the outside, where the sun could penetrate it.

"You could bring Burn out, he's like a walking flashlight." Damien whispered, careful not to shine the flashlight to the ceiling, where no doubt Zubat were hanging.

"Okay, Burn, only attack if they attack first." Speaking to the closed pokéball, it shook slightly in her grip, hopefully meaning her Pokémon understood. The moment Burn was out of his ball, the cave lit up more, allowing for the group to see in a ten foot radius.

Now that Shawn had evolved, and with Spencer in her pokéball, it was strange to no longer hold one of her friends as they walked, seeing as after their evolution, they were all to bog to hold, or stand on her shoulder, unless Spencer was using Illusion. Her hands felt oddly empty, unsure of what to do with them, she crossed her arms, then uncrossed them, before opting to pull out her Pokédex, and try to find new moves for her Pokémon, as well as what they had so far, after all the changes.

Spencer- Foul Play, Flamethrower, Agility, and Punishment.

Icee- Attract, Hail, Icy Wind, and Ice Fang

Shawn- Tackle, Quick Attack, and Confusion

Burn- Swift, Ember, Fire Fang, and Bite

Splash- Splash, tackle, and Flail

All her Pokémon now have a long range attack, (minus Splash), which she was very thankful for, seeing as that helped a lot, especially in cases like walking through a cave, full of Zubat. Trapped in her thoughts, Everest didn't even notice the Zubat until it was three feet in front of her face.

"Gligar!" Drac screeched, leaping off of Damien's shoulder, barreling into the wild Pokémon, and knocking it to the ground. That caused a chain reaction, as screeches crescendoed, and the ceiling seemed to come to life, as an almost infinite number of Zubat appeared.

"Shit. Burn, Swift and Ember, don't worry about holding back. Shawn, use Confusion." Even with her Pokémon protecting her, Everest still had to side step a few Zubat. They were creepy, with their fangs. Horror stories from her childhood bubbled up in her mind, of adventurers going into caves, only for their blood to be drank until dry by these things. And, the stories weren't even baseless. They did indeed drink blood, sometimes even human.

"Forage, use Ice Shard, aim for their wings especially. And Drac... keep doing what you're doing." The purple Pokémon was flying around at top speeds, screeching, and jumping from Zubat to Zubat, not using actual moves, but, screeching in their ears, which caused all who came into contact with Drac to run into each other and walls, as their echolocation became messed up.

"Crap." Everest ducked to the side as a Zubat came flying at her, and she promptly hit it with her bag, and the Zubat fell with a sickening crunch. Whoops. Serves them right, she wasn't completely defenseless.

After nearly seven minutes, the longest seven minutes ever to pass, Zubat became wary of the group, and stopped attacking, for now. Leaving two panting humans, and their Pokémon with some bite marks.

"Alright. Way more difficult than I thought. Come here guys, I'll patch you up." Damien and Everest decided to make camp right there, against a cave wall. While Damien began patching up a particularly nasty bite on Burn's flank, (which he didn't even look to be bothered by, since he was chasing his tail) Everest began working on pitching a tent. Usually they didn't bother with tents, unless it was raining, but with all these bats sleeping above them, no way was she about to sleep exposed. Okay, they managed to make it... not even an hour the first day. She may have underestimated the cave system, Everest realized. Oh well, this was going to be an experience she wouldn't back down from, you grew stronger from these things, so long as you made it through, that is.

**DEDRF**

Damien and Everest sat around a campfire later that day, each had their Pokédex out, trying to find the best way to get through this cave system. No way was a horde of Zubat going to prevent them from getting their next badge.

It was then, that Everest received a call.

"Hello?" It was little staticky, considering they were within a cave system, but nonetheless, it crackled to life after a moment.

"Hey, it's Howe. Are both of you there? Wanted to tell you two about the Rocket, finally gave up some information." The ranger's voice broke through the static, sounding much more chipper than the last time they had seen him.

When Everest and Damien had called the ranger station to report the Rockets in the daycare, the agent hadn't been so keen on revealing info to the authorities, and Howe was not happy. But, he had promised to update them on any information he managed to learn, considering they had enough grounds to at least keep the Rocket locked up.

"Yep, we're here Howe, what do you know?" Damien moved closer, so he could talk into the receiver without being loud, and risking another Zubat attack. Burn laid by Everest's feet, warming them up, while Shawn sat off to the left, his eyes glowing blue, which Everest wasn't quite sure what that was all about yet. Drac was overhead somewhere, screeching, claiming his territory, and Forage was sleeping soundly.

"So, apparently, the Rockets are pulling quite a bit of cash from this operation." He began, his northern Kalos accent slipping in a bit. "Of course, they're paid to watch and level up Pokémon, but, any eggs that they find from all the Pokémon, they either keep for their ranks, or they sell." His voice was dangerously low, and the idea nauseated her.

Who knows how many they have managed to steal and sell, separating Pokémon from their eggs can be harmful to the parent Pokémon, as well as the new babies. Sure, she had gotten Icee from an egg, but that was because the parent had passed away.

There were laws against selling of Pokémon eggs, as well as mass breeding. Who knows how many laws team rocket broke in the one daycare alone, and how many of their illegal operations were funded by that place? She had seen the hefty prices on the sign in the daycare.

"Are there other daycares? Ones that are run by Rocket?" As he spoke, Damien's knuckles turned white, he was ready to punch someone, not that Everest could deny her own anger.

"We're investigating that now. So far, no word of any connected daycares in Kalos. We sent info to the other regions, but haven't heard back yet. You two did a great job, figuring this one out-" Noise in the background broke Howe off, most likely another ranger. They sat in silence for a few moments, waiting for Howe to return. "I've got to go, but, like I said, nice job. You two be careful in the Zubat Roost." And he was gone, line dead.

"I don't care if we caught them, that shouldn't have been an operation from the start." She was angry, no doubt about it, to even think they managed to operate a seemingly 'normal' business, no questions asked? That two new trainers had to come across it? It seemed ridiculous.

"Who knows where else they are. Just sitting there, waiting." Damien ran his fingers through Forage's fur, as he recalled the event that brought them together. What awful thing were they going to do next? The trainers had no idea what was coming, in fact no one did.

**ESIBSS**

There were three more Zubat attacks over the next two days. Each one was smaller than the last, thankfully. They seemed to get the picture that Everest and her friends weren't ones to mess with. Luckily ice and psychic types were powerful against Zubat, so it worked out. So farm the group hadn't even seen any other wild Pokémon.

Just as they were deciding to pack up, and set up the tent for the night, they heard weak cries for help. They took off running, obviously.

"Charrrr." They turned the corner, only to find a Charmeleon standing guard in front of a kid, not much older than themselves, trying to fight off an entire horde of Zubat.

"Shawn, use Confusion!" Everest saw numerous bite marks on the kid, as well as his fire-type, no doubt the Zubat were to blame. It wasn't really their fault, it was in their nature, and in a place like this, where there was little prey, they went crazy, trying to secure food. Aka, by overpowering trainers.

"Forage, use ice shard!" It only took a couple of the Zubat to go crashing to the ground before the horde took off, with one taking a final swoop, trying to attach to Charmeleon. Making a split second decision, Everest threw a pokéball at it.

The Pokémon, which was probably weakened by hunger, and possibly by attacks from Everest and Damien, didn't even put up a fight, and the ball fell to the ground, it was caught.

"Hey, you okay there?" Everest walked over to the stranger, holding her hands up in surrender as the Charmeleon growled at them.

"Y-y-Yes. Thank you. I...We... that was too close." He panted, eyes wide with adrenaline. "Thank you." With one hand, she picked up the new Pokémon, her other, she dug in her bag to find her potions and berries,

"Here, I've heard that if you have a Zubat of your own, others will leave you alone." She placed the ball into his hands, and his eyes went wide. She next, gave him a few berries, and pulled out a few bandages from her bag.

"I'll fix up your Charmeleon for you, I'm Damien by the way." He had a deep gouge on his arm, which would need medical attention as soon as he got to the nearest town. But, Pokémon medicine would do for now.

"Thank you, so much, I'm Aidan." His head fell back, breathing out a sigh of relief, before he looked at Shawn and Forage.

"My name is Everest, this is Shawn, and that's Forage." Pointing to each member of the party respectively, she finished taping Aidan up. "Are you going to Cyllage too?"

"No, coming from there actually. Just got the gym badge too. Do you know how far Camphrier is?" She helped him to his feet, and he winced as he moved his arm awkwardly to catch himself on the wall.

"We came from there, two days to get out of the cave, another one to get through route 7. Although, I could give you the number of a Ranger, to pick you up so they can fix you up." Damien offered after a moment, getting out his communicator.

After exchanging both Ranger numbers, as well as their own, Charmeleon and Aidan looked much healthier. Before he left them to go the other direction, he turned around, digging in his pockets.

"This is a thank you, from me. I'll see you guys around." And he was gone. They opened the small brown packages, looks like the kid had just gotten them himself, as they unwrapped the protective packaging. Inside Everest's, was a very expensive silver spoon, almost perfect, except it was bent almost in half. Confused, she peered over Damien's shoulder, to find he had a long, barb, with purple ooze at the bottom.


	39. Cyllage City

"It feels like it's been months." Damien mumbled tiredly, dragging his feet along the ground. Ezra sat atop his head, periodically creating a humming sound with his wings, not for any particular purpose that Everest could see. "I can't wait for the sun to rise."

"You're just being dramatic. It's only been a little more than a week, Damien." Everest rolled her eyes, crossing her arms too. They just managed to exit the cave mouth, seeing the sky for the first time in awhile.

"Even if it was just a week, I feel like it's been a long time coming." Damien groaned, and shrieked in surprise as he fell to the ground. Everest looked at the guilty party, his heavy bat-like Pokémon. Drac echoed his shout, waving his wings wildly, jumping all over Damien's back. "I blame the narrator." The last was mumbled, and Everest wasn't quite sure what he was even talking about. With a sigh, Damien flipped over, knocking Drac off of his back, and Ezra hovered happily over the trainer.

"So, next up is a rock gym. What are you going to do?" It was the middle of the night, the pair guided by Burn. It wasn't much different from the cave, but it did appear that while inside the cave, their sleep schedule got all turned around. Below them, the streets of Cyllage were lit up by street lamps, but the magnificence couldn't even attempt to rival the stars above them.

"I don't really know. It will depend what kind of Pokémon Grant has. There are plenty of rock-ground types that he may have. But ground in general is more powerful." The Ground-type-master-to-be pushed himself off of his knees, not bothering to try and dust off. Wandering around in a cave for a week would make it kinda useless, even when they washed using rivers inside the caves.

"You still haven't answered the question." Icee walked beside Everest, and Spencer was an Ekans curled up on her only grinned.

"Trying to get one up on me, Everest? Maybe you should just wait and see." He teased, still grinning madly. He ran his fingers along his belt, where all the pokéballs laid. "Can't have you knowing all my tricks!"

"Pretty sure that's the whole point of being partners on this whole trip." Chuckling back, Everest nodded. "But hey, this is just your bluff, right? You have no idea."

"That's it Everest!" Damien suddenly was in her face, he grinned, and suddenly snatched her bag, before taking off. "Catch me if you can!"

Gaping in shock, it took a moment to even realize what he had done.

"Come back here you brat!" She took off after him, activating her rollerblades only a moment after he did, their laughter filling the mountain walls.

**DEDRF**

Not too far from the opening of Connecting Cave, a small group watched on. Four of them, each one matched the others clothes wise. The tallest one flipped open some sort of communication device.

"Hey, boss. We found her..." another began recording something in a journal, while the others waited for a reply.

"And is the boy there too?" A gravelly voice responded over the communicator. "Did they get any more Pokémon since the previous sighting?" The group shared a look, one even counting on their fingers... for whatever reason. They couldn't manage to count without.

"Yes, the dragon wielder is in Cyllage as well. They both appear to have the same amount, but I can't tell if they are all the same Pokémon." The phone went quiet, the laughter of the two trainers faded.

"Very well. I need two of you to come back, the rest will keep watch. Delay them if they wander too close to Lumiose while the next part of our plan is in motion."

"Yes, Michal." The group said in unison, before closing the device that brandished a scarlet R.

**EISBSS**

Damien couldn't sleep. At all. Everest was fast asleep across the room, somewhere under the pile of fur. Splash was floating around in the tank, doing his best to ignore the trainers. Damien rolled his eyes, and looked up to the ceiling.

Everest hadn't been wrong, he wasn't quite sure how he was going to beat Grant, just that he was. Drac was hanging from the ceiling by his tail, spinning in circles. The rest were asleep as well, curled up along his bed. Forage was really beginning to fit in, currently curled up between Damien and Reina, his blubber fat enough to protect from poison.

Flipping open his Pokédex, he silently noted it had been awhile since he checked the move pool. Wondering if there were any new additions.

Ezra- Bulldoze, Rock Slide, Dig, Earthquake, and Sandstorm

Drac- Poison Sting, Knock off, Acrobatics, and X-scissor

Reina- Double kick, Poison Sting, Fury Swipes, and Bite

Forage- Powder Snow, Mud Bomb, Ice Shard and Take down.

Nothing new, noting with a sigh. After all, they were pretty much without new or useful moves to learn until they got some TMs or got lucky enough to evolve. Looking over the move sets, he tried to come up with an idea.

"Hey Ezra, how are ya doing buddy?" The dragon type was perched atop his knee, his wings vibrating just loud enough to be heard. Big orange eyes looked down curiously, and nudged the trainer with his tail.

"Viiiii. Vi vibraaaa." Quietly enough, his Vibrava fluttered down to sit on his stomach, heavy enough to be reassuring. That and the caring look in the big eyes, he was easily his best friend.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous too bud." Idly Damien tried to picture what Pokémon the gym leader had. As far as he knew, maybe Grant had exactly the Pokémon that could take him down. "I'm thinking, you and Drac. Then, if we get more, Forage could use some battling help." The wings were like steel, but thinner than paper. Ezra remained silent, only nodding. He glanced out the window, the battlefield for the center in sight. "Wanna practice?"

Out on the field, Damien stood at the center line, Ezra and Reina at his right, Drac and Forage on his left. He had a grin on his face, watching his friends excitedly.

"This is a double battle, no switches allowed, first team to run out of Pokémon is the loser." Damien announced with a hand cupping his mouth, masking his voice, and making fun of most officials. "Battle begin." Drac and Ezra immediately took to the sky, Forage and Reina bristling, ready for a fight.

"Gliiiiii." Drac taunted, flipping in the air. Ezra didn't fall for it, staying well out of the flying type's way. Damien put on his goggles, pulling up the bandana, grinning.

"Ezra, use sandstorm." The storm immediately took hold, "You guys need to be ready to battle in a sandstorm! That's our ace!" He shouted above the sand. "Drac, use acrobatics, and get lost in the storm." Obediently, Drac began flying faster, the sand whipping up faster and faster, hiding his body. "Reina, go after Forage, use bite. Forage, dodge, and use ice shard."

This was a test, a test of teamwork, awareness, and combat ability in the sand. After years in the desert, Damien could see much better that it looked like Reina could. Drac, Forage, and Ezra were all ground types, leaving Reina at a disadvantage.

"You've got this Reina!" He watched as Reina managed to get behind Forage, and dive in for a bite, only to come up empty. Above them, Ezra and Drac were in a battle of evading, neither landing a hit just yet. As the only female member of Damien's team, she definitely was important to make sure she was as strong as possible. There were trainers out there who used moves like charm and infatuate, and if they managed to use it on his Pokémon, he needed at least one that was immune.

The sandstorm continued, kicking up more and more dust, and Damien felt a little bad for Reina, as she would be slowly losing health, as the only non-ground type.

"Reina! Use fury swipes to move faster, use them to kick off the ground!" He shouted to her. Blue ears twitched in recognition, and she started to do as he asked, now moving a little bit faster than before.

"She's doing pretty well, considering she's at a disadvantage." Everest was suddenly beside him, watching, with her own goggles watching. "I hope you tell her that later." She said just loud enough to be heard over the roar of the storm.

"Course I will." Damien grinned, watching Drac try and dive bomb Forage, who somehow always managed to be just out of reach. "Keep moving like that Forage!"

Before too long, Damien cut the training short, making sure to have them save energy for later today when they would challenge the gym leader. By then, the sun was finally rising, just over the horizon.

"Damien, I was wondering, do you think Ezra would be willing to try and teach Shawn dig?" She looked over at the crowd of Pokémon. Shawn was batting at Burn's tail, while they sat and chatted with Damien's Pokémon. Except for Reina who had wandered off somewhere, and Drac who was currently flying overhead of the trainers, dive bombing them from time to time.

Damien's face brightened at the suggestion, before whistling, getting all the Pokémon's attention. Burn in particular hopped up, sending Shawn to the ground in surprise.

"Ezra, would you teach Shawn how to use Dig?"

There was an excited chatter, before the dragon landed on Shawn's back, chittering. She couldn't help the smile when Shawn's tail lightly tapped the other Pokémon's back, as some sort of acceptance. Meanwhile, Burn was sad at the loss of attention to him, and tackled the two to the ground.

"I was reading TM's that Splash can learn, so I'm going to go talk to him about them, as long as you'll watch them." Damien nodded, silently wishing her luck, as she headed over to the small pond behind the poke center.

Spencer followed behind her, clearly worried about the loose cannon. Everest could hear Damien trying to coax Burn off of Ezra, and she couldn't help her snicker, before raising Splash's pokeball. The red light flashed, revealing her grumpy Pokémon.

Getting on her knees at the edge of the pond, Everest fished her PDex from her pockets, flipping it open. The Pokémon didn't watch her, instead it just floated around the pond, mindless.

"So, I was looking into the moves you can learn through TMs last night, and a few sounded like good ones to start with. There's Scald, waterfall, and surf. It's going to take a little while to come across stores that sell them, but if you're interested in learning them, I wouldn't mind looking around for them." Looking up from her device, she wasn't surprised, just sad, that the Feebas wasn't even listening to her.

"Zoroooooo arrrr." Spencer growled lowly, a calming sound, as she nuzzled her trainer. No doubt she was sorry for whatever the hell was up with this Pokémon.

"It's okay Spence. We'll work through this eventually. Imagine-" she was cut from her musings, by a loud, painful roar. "Shit." It sounded like Reina.

Everest quickly recalled Splash, and ran to where she left the rest of her Pokémon. Damien was already recalling Forage and Drac, leaving Ezra flying around him. Following his lead, Everest recalled Shawn and Burn as well, before following Damien down to the beach.

It was more so jumping from rock to rock, because the sound was leading them away from the leisure part of the beach, to the stone fields that came from landslides off of Connecting Cave.

What they saw stopped them in their tracks.

Reina, was curled in on herself, roaring in pain. Her body alight with a light that she had only seen during evolution. Damien moved faster than Everest. He jumped over the last few boulders, to come to Reina's side, petting her reassuringly.

"It's okay." He spoke softly, eyes looking around for the source of her evolution. There would have had to be a Moon Stone in order for her to evolve, but he couldn't see anything in her hands, or right below her in case she dropped it.

"Niiiiiiiidoooo!" She was louder this time, as her form slowly grew.

"I think she must have accidentally stepped on a Moon Stone." Everest spoke, worry filled her voice. Generally Pokémon would search means of evolution when they were ready. But Reina was still kinda small for a Nidorina.

The pair of trainers and their Pokémon could only watch on, as Reina was forced into evolving. It took maybe ten minutes for it to complete, the entire time, she wailed in pain. Everest and Damien tried to calm her with words and reassurances, until the light finally died down.

"Nidoqueeeeen!" She finally roared, her arms waving proudly, now almost the same size as Damien and Everest.

"Hey Reina." Damien sighed, happy she finally wasn't hurting anymore. "What's - oh." As he spoke, she lifted one of her legs, revealing the shard of a rock, lodged in her foot, which was bleeding. Damien carefully took it out, and the trainers examined it.

"Definitely a Moon stone." The color was familiar, and Everest looked at the Drill Pokémon, feeling sorry for her.

**DEDRF**

Far away from the beach, a Rocket grunt was speaking into his phone.

"Yes, it's done. It's a Nidoqueen now, it's potential should be stunted now, forced to evolve too early." He laughed, looking at his assortment of evolution methods he had, that could easily wreak havoc on the two trainer's teams.


End file.
